The World of Scott Mindeaux

American Idol 8 – Top 9

Here we go America. I’m sorry there was no review or recap last week, I was in Chicago.

So last week we said goodbye to Michael Sarver. So tonight there is no theme or mentor this week. The contestants can sing anything they want as long as it is a popular download on iTunes.

First up is Anoop…

Anoop Desai
Caught Up by Usher

This is an interesting departure for you Anoop. I’m not sure “I” would choose this song. Vocally it actually sounds pretty tight. You need a bit more stage presence, even tho it was a nice touch to sing to Paula. I can’t put my finger on it. It’s like you are someone else on stage.

Randy said the vocals were cool, it wasn’t the right song choice. Kara said it was his frat brothers dared him to sing the song. Paula appreciated that he should his playful side. Simon said he got a headache.

Megan Joy Corkery
Turn Your Lights Down Low by Bob Marley

Ok….i didn’t see last week, but if that was bad, this week is bad too. I’m just not feeling it. Come on Megan, do something more current and more up beat. I’m tired of the bippity boppity songs you have been doing. This was boring tonite.

Kara said she is in trouble. Paula said she needs to pump it up. Simon said the song was boring and monotonous. Randy said it was like watching paint dry. Oh my.

Danny Gokey
What Hurts The Most by Rascal Flatts

Hmmm….I was expecting something spectacular and wondrous – but I’m not impressed. You could have picked ANYTHING and this is what you picked? Really? I mean it was nice and all, but I don’t think that at this point, this was the song choice to hit that ball out of the park.

Paula said this is where he thrives and that she would hit repeat on the player in the car. Simon said it was his best performance. Randy said the show started here tonight. Kara said he moved everyone in the room emotionally. I’m sorry, but I didn’t feel it.

Allison Iraheta
Don’t Speak by No Doubt

Nice start Allison. I like this song. I think the guitar playing at the beginning distracted you, but by the chorus and the ending you were great. Great vocals. You’re a rocker, let it out!

Randy said it was good and he liked it, didn’t understand what she had on. Kara said it was good, but not her best. Paula said her vocal prowess rivals singers twice her age. Simon said we can’t avoid the outfit. Simon said it was a bit precocious.

Scott MacIntyre
Just The Way You Are by Billy Joel

Ok…what’s with the 80’s haircut?? I love me some Billy Joel, but I don’t know that you’ll escape being in the bottom 3 again this week. The performance is ok and a bit karaoke-ish to me. I really want to see you step in front of the piano and sing to the audience. Your performance was a bit gratuitous to me.

Kara said he made a smart choice tonight. Paula said she is very proud of him. Simon said his best performance by a country mile. He said it was a different Scott. Randy said one of the best of the night.

Matt Giraud
You Found Me by The Fray

Oooh…watch the vocals at the beginning there. I’ve never heard of this song. Again, for me this is song choice issue. I’m not feeling it with this song. You said you wanted to do something powerful, well it was a dud for me. Sorry dude.

Paula appreciates he went contemporary but aborted his bluesy side. Simon said he didn’t get it. Randy said it was the wrong song. Kara said he goes to the rock side and the r&b and he needs to commit.

Lil Rounds
I Surrender by Celine Dion

Lil I really like the new hair choice. YOu seem to be a bit behind the band, listen to the band. Perhaps, you should have slowed the tempo. This song has been sung every year in the Idol competition. I think the judges will hurt you on your choice. There have been more memorable performances by former Idol contestants, this was not one of them. You have chops girl, you do. You have a great voice, just don’t know if this was your song.

Randy said this wasn’t his song choice, but she sung it very very well. He wants her to young it up. Kara said that when she hits the high notes its unbelievable. Paula said she doesn’t want to see an adult contemporary Lil, she wants to see a younger Lil. Simon found it quite similar to a wedding song performance. He felt it was old-fashioned.

Adam Lambert
Play That Funky Music by Wild Cherries

Oh this is going to be a fun performance. This was a fun interpretation of the original. I like the arrangement. You really know how to work a crowd Adam. You had the time of your life up there and the audience and the judges know it too! Vocals are awesome. No worries this week Adam, none at all.

Paula likened him to Mick Jagger and Steven Tyler. Simon said it was very brave. He said it was original and shattered the karaoke crap of the night. Randy said he worked it out and is in the star zone. Kara said every week she can’t wait to see what he is going to do next.

Kris Allen
Ain’t No Sunshine by Bill Withers

Oh my God…. I already have goosebumps. What a wonderful way to end tonight. I’m even tearing up a bit. Such a powerful performance. I am really impressed Kris. This by far is one of your best performances EVER!

Randy said right now he has been slaying everyone. He said it was the best performance. Kara said “That is artistry!”. Paula said that could be a first cut from his first album. Simon said he brought confidence, he loved the arrangement. Best of his performances.

So who is going home??  Will it be Anoop or will it be Megan? I think Megan’s time is up. She will be leaving us. Joining in her the bottom will be Matt Giraud, but Matt will live to see another week.

Testing a New Blood Glucose Device

So as a Type II Diabetic, I need to take multiple blood sugar readings throughout the day. This means pricking my fingers several times a day. After a few days, you end up with sore fingers!

Well today I’m testing out a new blood sugar monitoring device. I doesn’t take away the finger pricking entirely, but it does reduce it significantly. The device also monitors and records 24/7 for 7 days. This data will allow me to see trends in my glucose levels rather than just reference points. I’m testing the unit out for two weeks.

The device works by placing a sensor on your abdomen or lower back or upper arm. It doesn’t work on blood, it places a sensor into the interstitial fat layer under the skin. You still have to do finger sticking to calibrate a “blood” reading against the “interstitial fat” reading. Once the unit is calibrated, the transmitter works for 7 days. The system may ask for additional finger stick readings to get a more accurate reading. Over time, the finger sticking will lessen. The sensor is inserted into the skin by a needle that threads a wire sensor under the skin. Since tonight was my first time doing it, it took my 15 minutes to get the strength to needle myself. When the moment came, it wasn’t so bad. Not any worse than when I have to lance my fingertips.

I found a video on YouTube about Continuous Glucose Monitoring…it’s got alot of information.

A Childhood Story Comes to the Big Screen

We all grew up reading this book. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t read it or had it read to them as a child. Maurice Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are is coming to the big screen this fall.

Warner Bros and Legendary Pictures is bringing this larger than life tale to the big screen on October 16.

I can’t wait!

Fore the movie trailer, visit: http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/wherethewildthingsare/

Behind Each Great Chef is an Awesome Team of Sous Chefs

This is a repost from my food blog, FoodieInDisguise.com
This past weekend I covered the GOHO Gourmet Kitchen at the International Home + Housewares Show in Chicago. We had a three-day schedule of guest celebrity chefs and authors come in and give a cooking demo. The schedule was pretty tight over the three day period and there were no breaks in-between.

As each guest chef arrived on site, they found all their prep work done and their station setup on stage. Prior to the show, each chef and cookbook author was asked to submit a prep and ingredient list. Whole Foods provided the food but the prep work was done by eight hard working students from The International Culinary Schools at the Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago.

For three days, these eight students chopped, minced, sliced and measured out all the ingredients for such chefs as Masaharu Morimoto, Tyler Florence, Ming Tsai, Stephanie Izard, Nathan Lippy, Paula Deen, Renée Behnke, Suvir Saran and Rick Bayless to name a few. Tucked away behind the stage was a prep room that was filled with glass bowls, kitchen utensils of all kinds, All-Clad cookware, KitchenAid blenders, mixers and food processors. KitchenAid and All-Clad were sponsors of the GOHO Kitchen Theater.

To finish reading this story, please click HERE …

On Chicago, Innuendos and The Cold

My trip to Chicago so far has been pretty good as far as my “business” trip has been concerned. I have been having a blast at the International Home and Housewares Show. But as far as meeting people in my old hometown, it has been a bust. There is one person whom I have been following on the net for quite sometime now. I don’t think I have ever hinted at anything more than just wanting to get to know him, but maybe my approach was wrong. I know I never hinted at anything of a sexual nature. Here is one thing I think many don’t know:

I very much dislike having conversations over email or instant messenger. I would much rather have a phone conversation or or meet in person. Emails and IMs are so cold. I can’t hear inflections, I can’t hear sarcasm – I can’t hear a smile. No amount of symbols on a screen cane make up for the real emotion in a voice.

My communications with this person has been via email and IMs and has never moved forward beyond that. In fact I carried a 13 piece email conversation with him no less than 36 hours ago. Very frustrating. I really wanted to meet some people in this city to get to know and maybe even find someone who would be willing to show me around town from their eyes and not the eyes of a tourist. I wanted to get to know them and how they lived in this great city. Yeah, sex can be fun, it always is, but I would have been very happy with some witty banter, some wine and a couple of good laughs. No such luck.

I mentioned to this person that guys here in Chicago seem disinterested, but in reality it’s no different than back home in California. People don’t want to talk on those social sites. They rack up points in their heads as to how many friends they can list on their page and to see how many compliments they can get from others.  Does this person here in Chicago think I’m such a schmuck that I can’t even meet to say hello? Maybe it’s my fault for not being right out there and asking him out. But I couldn’t. I was too insecure in myself that I would rather not ask, than be rejected.

Shame on me.

So for me, on this trip to the city I was born in, this definitely is the windy city. When you try to get to know someone, you seem to feel like you’re being blown off. I’ve always thought of myself as a caring, sensitive person that always put other people ahead of myself. Now I find myself questioning whether I am who I think I am or if I”m some ass coming across as wanting and terse.

So Much To Do in 8 Hours

Well, my flight takes off at 6:00am out of LAX. So I have to hit the road no later than 2:30am. It will take about 40-45 minutes to get to LAX and then find my way to Long Term Parking and take one of those buses to my terminal. I want to check in early so I can see if I can qualify for Exit Row seating.

Once in the air, I will fly and land in ORD at approximately 12:04 CDT.

However before ANY of that, I still have to:

1. Pack
2. Laundry
3. Finish the Render Farm Client Auto-Login Setup
4. Write documentation on above setup
5. Watch the results of Idol’s Top 11
6. Empty the fridge of stuff that has to go before I get back
7. Take a nap?
8. Download a movie to the iPhone for the flight
9. Remember to pack the on-plane power supply for my MacBook Pro
10. See if I can collect all the docs for my Pre-Qualifacation Letter
11. Call SmartLevel Media and have my cards FedEx’d to Chicago
12. Finish listening to Adam Lambert’s weird song from last night, get over it and move on.

HELP!