Changes for the Blog in 2011

Hey folks, I know that things have been a little more quiet than usual here on Luke's Ponderings, but I am looking to start ramping up the content featured here again. Also, I will be implementing a slight change in content on a couple of the days. Wednesdays will feature television AND/OR music content, as opposed to those topics being separated during different days. Thursdays will feature a brand new topic here on Luke's Ponderings - sports. Sports is another topic I am definitely involved in and look forward to discussing a plethora of sports topics here on the blog in the week's to come. I know not everyone enjoys reading sports topics, but I hope for those that don't, it will help bring in a new audience for those that do. And in turn, I am hoping that this slight change will keep my writing motivation up, too.

I know I promised a recap of the Top 10 songs of 2010 as part of my Songs I Dig feature blog and it is still in the works! In fact, I am over half-way done with it; I just need to recap the remaining four songs left and it will be posted. So stay tuned for that. I will also be looking at incorporating a new look to the blog in the months ahead. So there are many new things to look forward to in this new year.

Just a few things I wanted to share with you as we head into the second month of 2011. And as always, thanks for your interest and loyalty to Luke's Ponderings. Believe me, I have plenty more in store for the months ahead.

American Idol 10 - Auditions Continue

The second week of America Idol's newest season commenced last week with auditions taking place in Milwaukee and Nashville. For those of you who may be getting tired of the audition rounds already, you only have a couple of more weeks in which to suffer. According to the schedule, the Hollywood week shows begin airing on February 16. Actually, I find myself to be enjoying the audition shows this season more than ever. So far, there have been far less mind-numbingly bad singers featured and more of the quality singers shown. So that is a big plus for me. Still, some 50 plus singers made it out of the Milwaukee auditions and how many actually made it on screen, probably less than that? Surely Idol producers could've been able to squeeze in a few more of those hopefuls in.

Although one of the intriguing factors to seeing the awful contestants that couldn't sing was to hear the insults Simon would retort at them. Obviously that's missing and nobody on the panel really fills those shoes, although Randy does seem to be stepping up and being harsher in his criticism of some of those contestants. However, this may be one of the reasons why fewer of the bad singers are being featured, because the interaction between the current panel and these contestants just doesn't make for as good TV as it once did. Still, no matter how you slice it, those contestants who can't sing will still get treated the way that they deserve to be treated, regardless of who is sitting at the judge's table. It's just the way the game is played.

As for the better singers who made it out of the Milwaukee auditions with a Golden Ticket, here are a few of them who caught my eye. Scott McCreery is the 16-year old with the freakishly-low country singing voice. Clearly the show has not had a country-sounding male contestant with the talent that Scott has and he could go far. Naima Adedapo is the 25-year old working at the Milwaukee Summerfest Amphitheater, helping to support her family. It has the potential to be a real nice rages to riches kind of story for her. I really liked her soulful sound. Thia Megia is one of the 15-year olds featured on the show with a strong, confident voice. She was also on America's Got Talent a few seasons ago. Molly DeWolf Swenson is the 22-year old White House Intern, currently working for the Obama administration. She really surprised me with her vocal talent and I look forward to seeing what more she can do in this competition. Steven Begun is the 27-year old CPA and another one that surprised me with his voice. I thought he was going to be one of those awful singers but was anything but. Scott Dangerfield is the unassuming 22-year old that wowed the judges. I don't know if he has me entirely sold yet, but he definitely had a good audition. And last but not least, Chris Medina, the contestant who's fiance was involved in a car accident that resulted in her having a brain injury. It was a touching and heartfelt story to end the night, but I am hoping this doesn't turn into another Danny Gokey situation.

Now, for the contestants featured on Thursday's Nashville audition episode that caught my eye include: Chelsee Oaks and Rob Bolin - a pair of contestants who were once involved with each other but whom are now separated. They both sang well together and individually and both deserved a shot to move forward. Adrienne Beasley, the 22-year old African-American girl who was adopted by white parents at the age of two. She had a wonderful country-sounding vibe to her voice and could go far. Jackie Wilson is the 28-year old contestant who had a stunningly-strong audition that had the judges clapping after she was done. Paul McDonald didn't have as long of an audition as some of the others, but he's another one to watch with his smoky vocals. And last but not least, Lauren Alaina, the 15-year old contestant that sure didn't look or sound 15 years old to me. She sounded way beyond her years and has already been chosen as "the one" by Steven Tyler. Sure, her audition may have been out of this league, but let's wait until she has to sing live before we get way ahead of ourselves here.

So yes, there are definitely a few hopefuls in the midst of all those auditioning for this season's American Idol. We look to have a good crop of singers and it'll be interesting to see how things get whittled down as we head towards Hollywood Week and the live voting rounds. I honestly don't know what will make up the semi-final rounds, whether viewers will be voting or not or how many contestants will make up that particular round. All of that appears to be a surprise for the viewers that we'll just have to wait out until it comes. In the meantime, be sure and enjoy the audition episodes this coming week! Let's see who steps forward as front-runners in these upcoming episodes.

A Brand New TV

I've had my eye on a new television for awhile; ever since I moved into my house. The living room can accommodate a big TV, but I made due with my 27" Toshiba that I had for awhile - the one I received as a gift from my parents six years ago. It's still a nice TV; a flat screen with a nice picture. But compared to today's TV's, it was still a behemoth to move around. And it isn't compatible to today's HDTV standards. As I mentioned, I had my eyes on a new TV for awhile but I wanted to wait until after Christmas before I bit the bullet. Now I finally have that TV I had been looking forward to having.

Best Buy opened a store in Marquette this past November and I had been keeping my eye on their sale's paper for a good deal on a TV. It seems like every week, they have a deal on a different brand of TV. A few weeks back, I was looking into the Best Buy brand on TV's, the Insignia. Overall it had decent reviews, but they weren't over the top. So I decided to hold out for a little while longer. Then, last week they had a sale on the Sharp brand of TV's, specifically the Quattron, which uses a fourth color subpixel, that being yellow, in addition to red, blue, and green. It produces a much clearer and more vibrant picture. I went into Best Buy and took a look at the picture in person. Yes, the Quattron TV's had an equally, if not better picture than the rest of the TV's. I was pretty happy with how they looked, but I wanted to ponder my decision a little more, so I left.

Not only was I looking at a much bigger TV, but one that also conserved energy. TV manufacturers nowadays build TV's with LED technology, thus using less electricity to run. The LED technology wasn't quite there last year - if it was, those kinds of TV's were way expensive. LED TV's have come down in price since, but they are still higher than their plasma counterparts. But hey, no matter what you buy in regards to LED technology, it will always be more expensive in comparison to something that uses the standard methods of powering something up. I wanted a TV at least 50" big, so I settled on a Sharp Quattron TV that was 52" in size. I suppose I could have went with a 55" or even a 60" TV, but I was satisfied with the 52". So, I ordered the TV on-line and within a few days, went and picked it up at the Best Buy store in Marquette. It was as easy as that.

You can either put the TV on a pedestal that comes with the TV or mount it on a wall. I had it on the pedestal for a few days but ultimately wanted it mounted to the wall. And honestly, it looks the best of all being on the wall. I got rid of the old clunky TV cabinet which the old TV sat on and purchased a new shelf unit that mounts to the wall where the cable box and DVD/VCR player sits upon. Everything in front of the living room takes up so much less room now, I've added more space in there. I waited awhile to buy a new TV for my house and it was certainly worth the wait. Now I'll able to enjoy the comforts of watching anything I want on that TV for many years to come. I certainly have to regrets in making that purchase.

U.P. Packer Pride Runs Deep

In some locations from the U.P., the city of Green Bay, Wisconsin is an hour away. Where I live, it's three hours away, which in comparison to bigger cities like Detroit and Chicago, a very short drive. So as you can imagine, there are a lot of Green Bay Packer fans in Upper Michigan. It's probably the largest following of fans for one professional team here in the U.P., with the Red Wings and Lions closely behind. Generations of Packer fans have listened to the games on radio, personally gone to Lambeau Field to watch games, and faithfully watch them on television. Me personally, I am not a Packers fan and never have been. But the loyalty to the team from my fellow Yoopers is amazingly strong, in both times of good and bad.

As you can imagine after yesterday's victory against the Chicago Bears, Packer fans are gleaming with pride today. The team finished off the Bears at Solider Field in the NFC Championship Game with a score of 21-14. They will now face the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl on Sunday, February 6 in Dallas, Texas. It's the Packers first Super Bowl appearance since 1997, when they lost to the Denver Broncos. As a Detroit Lions fan, it's always difficult for me to root for the Packers all that often. The Packers and Lions are conference foes and in most recent years, the Packers have won most of the contests between the two teams (if you don't follow the NFL that much, the Lions have been horrid the past ten years). However, I must admit that I was rooting for the Packers to win more so than the Bears yesterday. I don't know what it was; maybe to see Aaron Rodgers have success or to have the city of Green Bay experience the euphoria of the Packers having this much success again.

I remember the Packers' last two Super Bowl appearances in the mid-1990's extremely well. Brett Favre was the quaterback and Mike Holmgren was the coach. There was so much Packer pride going around it was crazy. I was in high school and the kids that were Packers fans were so boisterous about the team it was driving me bonkers. Back then, the Lions were still mediocre but they weren't as bad as they have been the past ten years. So it was always tough to hear the Packers fans yuck it up during those two successful seasons. But then, when the Packers lost in the Super Bowl in 1997, they weren't so boisterous anymore. But now, with maturity and understanding the fierce loyalty that Packers fans hold, I am compelled to show unity with those Packer fans as they march towards the Super Bowl.

It's hard to say exactly whom I will be rooting for come Super Bowl Sunday. I may have been rooting just a little bit for the Packers this past Sunday, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep that up two Sunday's from now. But hey, how can you not admire the way the Packers have played in the playoffs thus far. They certainly have a legitimate shot to win it all, especially considering their playoff performance. And all this for a team just a few hours away from the Upper Peninsula. You can't say that about any other professional sports teams in existence.

American Idol Season 10 Begins

For American Idol fans, once January rolls around, you know it's not too much longer before the new season starts. And sure enough, last night the premiere episode of the new season aired on FOX, featuring a new judge's panel and a new enthusiasm for the show. Preliminary ratings numbers from last night show that the show continues to lose some of its ratings compared to the season premiere from a year ago, but with 25 million people still tuning in, I'd say that's a pretty healthy number. Heck, the show may never again see the 30 million viewer benchmark like in previous seasons, but if it can halt the ratings drop that has been witnessed during the past few years, the show will be okay for awhile.

I think the biggest thing that was on all of the minds of Idol fans was how well the new judges would do. Aerosmith front-man Steven Tyler exceeded my expectations and proved to be a very valuable addition to the judge's panel. He was funny, witty, and yet constructive when he needed to be. No, he's no Simon Cowel - in fact, I don't think anyone should try to fit Simon's shoes. Those that make up the panel this year are doing exactly what they should be doing - being themselves and not trying to replace someone. Jennifer Lopez also proved to do well, although she did have some difficulty saying no to a few of the contestants whose singing wasn't up to par. I think she got the hang of it after awhile. I think she'll end up being the nicest judge of the group - the one to be motivating and not so harsh when a contestant isn't singing the greatest. However, I do think she'll be tough when she needs to be.

The remaining judge on the panel has been a constant since the show began nearly ten years ago and actually, it was nice to see one familiar face still there. Randy Jackson shines the most during the audition rounds and he tends to lose his luster once we reach the live rounds with some of his repetitive critiques and phrases. However last night, Randy certainly did not lose his touch, still using his usual "dawg" tendencies and turning away contestants that honestly did not have a chance. While Stephen and Jennifer fall pray to the "puppy dog pouts" of certain contestants, Randy stays firm and turns contestants away because their vocal abilities just aren't there. He often says "this just isn't for you" when describing their singing skills. Although he's no Simon Cowel either, he may be stepping into that roll in his own way.

As for the contestants themselves, there was nobody that really stood out to me as having a jaw-dropping audition quite yet. It's just too soon to tell who might wind up being the favorite in these early rounds - but once we get into Hollywood week, then the favorites begin to sprout up. Time will tell on who becomes the stand-outs on this season of American Idol, but all in all I'd have to say that this season is starting out much better than I had hoped. The judges seem to know what they are doing and aren't annoying the heck out of me just yet. Steven Tyler surpassed my expectations as a judge and Jennifer Lopez did fine out of the gate, too. Let's hope this momentum continues this season and we'll end up with one of the best season's yet.