jpapagan's Blog

Here they are folks, the BEST of the finalists:



That's right, these two are the best.  This SHOULD be the final two this season.  It may not be, in fact it probably won't be... but it should.

If you have any musical training or just an ear for a good voice, you have to agree with me.  Certainly there is a lot of talent in the competition this year and all of the top finalists are pretty talented.  But Syesha and David Cook are a level above the rest.

David Cook has been getting rave reviews and he has a good shot at being in the final two and even winning.  But for some reason, Simon and Randy to an extent, have been a little biased against Syesha.  Simon continues to make comments that acknowledge how good she is ( like, "technically, it was very, very good...") but he continues to add inexplicably weird negative spins to his comments, like "I'm not sure what people will think of a song that they don't know at this stage of the competition," whatever that means.  He's being totally hypocritical when he says something like that.  Because how many times has he said that it's hard to sing Whitney or Mariah, et al, because you're going to be compared to the greats??  So now, when it's Mariah night, Syesha decides to sing something that is NOT one of Mariah's more well-known songs and Simon criticizes her for it!!!  I actually (and I can't believe I'm about to say this) TOTALLY AGREED WITH PAULA this week when she said Syesha was smart for choosing a lesser known Mariah song so that people would just judge her performance (which was superb) and not compare her so much to Mariah singing it.

Anyway, these two are the best.  Take it to the bank.  I think the teen girls might have more to say about it than I do and push David Archuletta to the top, but anything can happen.  We'll see.  At this stage, they are all very talented and it's all pretty much about personal taste.  So, here is how I would rank the remaining TOP 7 finalists:

1. David Cook
2. Syesha Mercado
3. Brooke White
4. Carly Smithson
5. David Archuletta
6. Kristy Lee Cook
7. Jason Castro

People who say they would not vote for the other Democrat if their Democrat doesn't get the nomination are just insane.

This is a very scary potential problem that shows the uneducated, idiotic nature of so many people in this country.

The fact remains, that Obama and Clinton are so similar on about 95% of the issues and both are miles away from John McCain. If you support one but wouldn't support the other vs. McCain, you are either a hypocrite, a phony or ignorant.

So I ask you, why are you supporting your candidate in the first place? Because she is a woman? Because he is African-American? Because you like their perceived charisma or personality? Or you "trust" one more than the other? All of these things are tiny factors but not the ones that should be shaping your vote.

Do you LIKE paying $4/gallon for gas? Do you LIKE this ongoing war in Iraq? Do you LIKE not being able to afford a house because of the abolition of the middle class over the past 8 years?? Because these are the things that you'll continue to get if you vote for John McCain or abstain from voting because YOUR Democrat didn't get the nomination.

Wake up, Democrats. Wake up, Americans. You're smarter than this!

Fear mongering!  That's what Hillary is resorting to with her recent tactics.  It is cheap, dirty and insulting to the intelligence of voters.  Her ad about "who do you want answering the phone at 3am" is just disgusting.  She's trying to play to Americans' fears of safety, terrorism and national security.  It's the same B.S. tactics that the Republicans have always used, and WILL use in the general election. 

The strategy she is using - "I am battle tested and I will keep you safe, and Obama is not experienced enough to do so" - makes no sense and will hurt her in the general election.  It's like she's resorting to whatever she can to win this battle (against Obama), even if it means losing the war (against McCain).

Here's the real truth: If there's anyone we should be afraid of answering the 3am phone call in the White House, it's Hillary Clinton and John McCain!

McCain has a long history of being a loose cannon and flying off the handle, and Hillary's shown to make the opportunistic decision, often in spite of what's "right."

The fact is, Obama is clearly the best one to "answer that phone" because he is the only one of the 3 who actually has his head screwed on right, and will make smart, educated, well-informed decisions because he continues to show that he won't get caught up in the mud-slinging campaign games that Hillary is trying to drag him into.

Did you Vote today on Super Tuesday??

Post your story here.  We're not so much interested in who you voted for, but rather what type of experience did you have voting. 
Was it smooth?
Was it crowded or empty?
Was there any confusion or mistakes?
Have you ever voted in a primary before?
Why did you vote?
Any advice you want to give to people who still have yet to vote?

Go ahead and post your comments below and we'll read them throughout the afternoon on our Live Coverage webcasts.

We'll miss you Kwame Brown... now don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.

Ah, the Kwame Brown era has come to an end... and just when he was starting to come into his own. His star was shining and opportunity was knocking - Andrew Bynum was on the shelf and Kwame was starting to string together double-doubles like he was channeling, well, Elden Campbell?

Anyway, let the Pau Gasol era begin!! I'm not sure how Memphis is going to explain this trade to the long-suffering Grizzlies' faithful but they continue to be about a decade away from a championship.

Lakers get: Pau Gasol

Grizzlies get: Kwame Brown, Javaris Critendon, Aaron McKie, Marc Gasol, 2008 & 2010 first-round draft picks, 2010 second round draft picks.

Well, Kobe has no excuses now, assuming Bynum comes back strong for the playoff run.

What do you think??

With the announcement that Led Zeppelin is getting together for a reunion performance, it sparks questions of a full reunion tour. There have been rumors and hopes for many years of this. Since John Bonham's son, Jason is a drummer and has played with the guys before, it's always seemed like a perfect formula for a classic rock band reunion. But it's never happened (officially).

Perhaps with the recent tours of The Police and Van Halen, Led Zeppelin decided that the time was finally right to get in on the act. We'll see what's to come.

Is this the ultimate for you? I have to admit, these guys would be pretty high on my list of classic rock bands that I'd like to see in a reunion concert. Some people feel that way about The Police and now they're getting their wish.

If you could see ONE band live in a reunion tour/concert, who would it be? and why? If your favorite is a band who is missing any of its members, who would you like to see fill in?

You might be asking, "Who is Bill Richardson?"

Is anyone on this bandwagon yet? At this point, all you're really hearing about, at least on the democratic side, is Hillary, Obama and perhaps John Edwards.

 

But to that, I give you Bill Richardson. He is a dark horse sleeper at this point but looks very strong if you break it down. He could make a slow and steady climb, a la Bill Clinton in 1992 who was also well under the radar at this point in 1991.

Check out the site: www.richardsonforpresident.com

Read up on the Experience, the Issues, the Plans and the Personality. He may just be the best candidate out there (and there are a lot)... that is, unless Al Gore enters the race.

So, Barry is in Los Angeles tonight and for the next three games.

Personally, I don't think it needed to come to this.  Barry could have broken the record at home if only he didn't decide to "rest his legs" the week before in Milwaukee and on the home stand.  He stalled on the previous road trip to set it up for himself at home.  Then when he was home last week, only 2 away from the record, he took a couple games off as well, leaving himself only 3 games over the weekend to hit 3 homers.  Well, he only hit one (on Friday) and was shut out Saturday and Sunday.

 The point of the story is, you never know when you'll hit them and you can't just assume that you'll be able to jack one at will, even if you're Barry Bonds.

 Now he's on the road for the next week and he either has to...

a) break the record on the road and get booed

b) sit on the bench to make sure he doesn't break the record on the road

c) play but try not to hit homers

It's all a bad scenario.  Personally I think he will play 4 out of 6 games this week and "conveniently" hit one homer to tie Hank, so that he can break the record next week when he's back at home.  What do you think?

 

What's the best way to beat the heat this July?  Is global warming getting out of hand or what?  Last year was really bad and so far it looks like this summer is going to be the same, if not worse.

 

Personally, I like to open up the louvers on my Santa Monica apartment, grab an ice cold beverage from the Regal Beagle, and head down to the beach with my roomies.

 

How about you? 

I was thinking about this - there are some great parallels between 'The View' hosts and rock bands.

Joy Behar is clearly the Bass Player - she is akin to Michael Anthony in Van Halen. No matter how many changes to the lead singer they make, she is content to stay out of the spotlight, not ruffle the feathers, and ride the gravy train as long as she can, happy to have a great gig.

Rosie O'Donnell is the lead singer... but not just any lead singer. She is like a Sammy Hagar / Axl Rose hybrid. She's basically the front man who already had a pre-established solo career (Sammy) and was brought in to replace the original lead singer, but ultimately her ego and alpha personality (Axl) caused too much friction, forcing her early departure.

Barbara Walters is like Eddie Van Halen - she doesn't ever quite have the persona to be a true front man, but because she's the founder and heart & soul of the band, her ego always rears it head when one of the lead singers gets too big for the rest of the band - and she squeezes them out.

I'm not sure yet about Elisabeth, Meredith, Lisa, Debbie and Star Jones.  Elisabeth is definitely the young, attractive one they brought in to try to stretch out the band's popularity to another generation.  I'm not sure who that equates to.