Talent out of Miami

So Idol's back in Miami; they start with a retro, Miami Viceish intro--more than 10,000 waiting, Ryan says. I'm totally looking forward to this city, expect to see over-the-top talent and fools.

The show is so much slicker than when they were here in season 2; first up is some chick who works at her family's meat market. They seem like good people, but then she belches (loudly!) for the camera--it's ridiculous. She sings like a woman possessed--super-loud and totally unlady-like. Ugh... she could've been good, but isn't. She's floored that they don't like her, says nobody's every told her she's bad; Simon says most people don't know what they're talking about. Her mom's shocked.

Some guy with a good singing voice, Robbie Carrico--yeah, he's very smooth, mellow; bit of an edge. Former boy band member Ryan said; Simon likes him, Randy too; Simon says yes, Paula too, and Randy three. Man, Paula is sitting oddly close to Simon; ugh, afterwards his peeps spray him with silly string, it's dumb. Who's gonna clean it up?

Some guy with pan flutes, who can't even play them; a bunch of bad guys in a row. A Venezuelan who plays gypsy music, he has this big goofy smile but could be good. Ghaleb Emachah, does a husky version of You Sang to Me, which is a great song but he's not amazing. Simon says drunk he'd like him; Paula likes his voice, but the accent is too strong; Simon keeps hounding her to say yes or no; Randy says yes, Paula winds up deciding to put him through despite the accent. He has a really good personality, hope he doesn't just fade away--he kisses literally everyone on the way out.

Two big girls, hilarious shots of them squashing Ryan. They go in together, just good-natured chicks; they're hilarious, bantering with the judges, one likes Ryan the other Randy. Oooh, Corliss Smith can sing--a classic great jazzy tone, very pleasant to listen to, and when she sings it's no nonsense. I like her. Next, Brittany Wescott, very pure, more poppy voice, also pleasant and fun to listen too. Everybody likes everybody, Paula calls them her ladies, invites them to come over and kiss Randy and Simon, it's like a kiss and hug fest, hilarious. They celebrate with their peeps, it's great.

Oh, and during the commercial break--an Obama ad! It's pretty powerful, shots of him over one of his speeches. Smart ad buy.

Suzanne Toon, interesting look; had a baby as a teen, in tears talking about what this shot means to her. And wow, what a voice... sultry, slow, strong; very compelling, emotional. Paula calls it sexy, sultry, Simon says you become (even) more attractive singing; Randy says watch the pitchiness, but go on through.

Man, Miami is blowing the other cities away. Hey, they flash back to Jasmine Tries; another Filipino wants to be the first Asian American Idol, she's small and cute as Simon points out. Ramiele Malubay; a no-nonsense voice, belts out Natural Woman--totally in command, a bit screechy at times, and she's not amazing, but not bad. Paula likes her, Simon says you're good but more like a hotel singer; Paula calls her phenomenal; Randy is impressed, she keeps saying 'thank you' in a singsong way. Simon says no, Paula and Randy put her through. Her dad's really happy.

Day two, Syesha Mercado, nice speaking voice, seems well-put-together. Dysfunctional dad, just out of a rehab program, it's pretty touching to hear him talk to her; it really is a very family-oriented show. Belts out Think, good but really like any one of a dozens of past good singers. Simon finds her ordinary; Randy likes her, Paula too; Simon comes around as well.

Clip of Natashia Blach, beautiful tone to her voice, nice smile--old-school as Randy says. Ilsy Lorena Pinot, quick clip as well; big smile, seemed to be good.

And now a Clinton commercial; basically quotes from the Times endorsement, pretty boring and flat.

Back with some really bad guys, then some chick who made top 20 on American Juniors, whatever that was. She's changed quite a lot, hooched up now. Totally full of herself, Simon says you're very confident, aren't you. Talks like a packaged candidate, I really don't like her at all; not a bad voice, actually, just totally into herself, totally acts out the song, makes the judges crack up. Simon wants her to sing it again without all the acting, she says she's just acting like herself, Simon says that's the problem. Randy no, Simon no, she keeps trying to sing on the way out. She gets a bit hostile at the end, Simon tells her to go to L.A. and become an actress. Over-indulged says Simon at the end. She gets angrier as she talks it out, the sad thing is I don't think she was acting, she's just a bit rotten.

Day two is nearly over, last guy is clearly a fool. Pretty energetic though. Does some crazy introduction of himself, dumb. He's horrible, keeps acting the fool well after the judges have lost interest.

17 people made it out--hmm, I'd have thought a lot more; the ones we saw were pretty good. Next week the slog continues in Atlanta.

Suzanne Toon, single mom
Corliss Smith, big girl
Brittany Wescott, big girl #2
Syesha Mercado, druggie dad
Ilsy Lorena Pinot, big smile
Ghaleb Emachah, accent
Ramiele Malubay, filipino
Robbie Carrico, boy bander

Wandering around in Omaha

Idol is, oddly enough, in Omaha... where Ryan says 10,000 showed. Some fat chick is wearing a shirt that says "I beat anorexia", and everyone's talking about corn. Paula's plane has been delayed, leaving Randy and Simon to make small talk.

They start with an idiot, with no self-awareness; I wonder if he's a little mentally challenged; brings gifts for Randy/Simon, seems like a nice guy. I'm thinking until Paula gets here they can't show any real contestants; the guy starts crying about how long he's waited. He's horrible, and really seems to be oblivious to the impression he's making. He then auditions, essentially for Ryan's job, in a robotic voice; Simon tells him he'll get him in to report for the local FOX station on the finals.

Jason Rich, from a small town; seems totally normal, but with a nice, non-grasping confidence. He restarts, has a husky voice; starts for the third time, can't remember the words. Simon says one more shot; he stops again. Simon feeds him the next lines, he still can't go on; starts for the fourth time. Pretty genuine; trying very hard. Randy says good voice, Simon says not bad; he gets through--Simon tells him this is it for you.

Paula rolls in, they string together a bunch of people who forgot words. It's pretty boring television tonight so far, so they turn to Rachael Wicker, who's strong enough to defeat a bunch of girls at arm wrestling. She has a really classic country voice; I like her, has this interesting open kooky quality to her (reminds me of Julia Roberts). Simon says you're singing like a broken-down old-timer; Randy doesn't quite like her half-yodel but puts her through, as does Paula, despite Simon's no.

Back with a bunch of nuts; some crazy goth chick who claims she used to be a pro wrestler. She hits Ryan a few times, sings like a banshee. Simon says it's like the soundtrack to Omaha. Has this totally crazy laugh. Ryan comes in to argue for her, sortof; Paula steps out, he takes over her chair, she hangs out in the hall.

Cute little girl goes in, Samantha Sidley; she's very sweet, takes their teasing well. Oooooh... perfect song choice, flows out like velvet. So nice to listen to; Ryan likes her voice, tells her to stop moving around, Paula busts in to say that doesn't matter, Simon agrees with her; she's very becoming, the way she beams at the judges; they heckle Ryan out of the room.

Some more good people, very briefly; Elizabeth Erkert, Denise Jackson, Michael Sanfilipo. Erkert tells the camera she can't wait to be America's Next Top Model.

Angelica Puente next, who has a messed up family life, lives with her grandparents after moving out from her parents, she still wants to make her dad proud. Does Power of Love through her tears; a pretty standard voice, but some real power. Randy says you're just mimicking; no performance skills for Paula but promising voice; they both say yes, Simon says with a bit of effort you could be really good, just be yourself. They talk about her afterwards, like her. Ryan calls her dad; she tells him she's going to Hollywood. We've seen this happen a few times on Idol, this one isn't as emotional as the others for some reason, but I'm glad she made it.

A bunch of rockers next, not necessarily all from Omaha. David Cook, who physically and the way he holds himself reminds me a bit more of Blake Lewis than Chris Daughtry. Sings Living on a Prayer; he has a really interesting, different voice; rough, but his cadence is so deliberate. Simon says not bad, Randy says perform or something, Paula agrees. He could do really well.

Another self-proclaimed weirdo. He's a full-time student, and volunteers at a zoo; wears this crazy gold shirt, and does a nutty, speedy version of Shout. Simons says that was just everything I hate.

And like that the episode wraps with its final contestant, after stringing together some really bad (and scary) people. They're just bad and boring; they should just play more of We're Brothers Forever. Leo Marlowe, who I don't like right away--he talks too loudly, and is oblivious and arrogant. Ugh, he's not horrible; Simon likes his voice, and that he's open and not defensive; Paula likes him, Randy too. He breaks down, which makes me like him a bit more, and has a goofy smile on his face with his family, which is good too; Paula gushes about him afterwards.

19 people made it out, just about all women it seems. Miami is next, it'll be very different I'm thinking.

Samantha Sidley, shy girl
David Cook, rocker
Angelica Puente, crying girl
Rachael Wicker, arm wrestler
Leo Marlowe, queen
Jason Rich, forgot the words
Elizabeth Erkert, heard it through the grapevine
Denise Jackson, big earrings
Michael Sanfilipo, guy

Our Kennedy

You don't even need to read the Times' blog entry, Obama, Kennedys Resonate with Youth--just check out the photo.

New York Times photo by Damon Winter

Our ally!

This is what Barack Obama is running to change.

Marilyn Berger's Suharto, Former Indonesian Dictator, Dies at 86

Suharto of Indonesia, whose 32-year dictatorship was one of the most brutal and corrupt of the 20th century, died Sunday in Jakarta. He was 86....

In the following years, governing through consensus, traditional mysticism, military repression and authoritarian control, President Suharto restored order to the country and presided over an era of substantial development. Many Indonesians benefited from his programs, but none more so than members of his family, who became billionaires many times over. Last year, he topped a new list of world leaders who had stolen from state coffers. The list, by the United Nations and the World Bank, cited an estimate that he had embezzled $15 billion to $35 billion. ...

He rarely took a public stand on any issue. Instead, by waiting to allow a consensus to form, he was usually able to make events evolve the way he wished. He can be better understood in the context of the old forms of Javanese kingship in which the ruler was surrounded by courtiers who tried to divine the royal mind.

Although he was a Muslim, Mr. Suharto seemed imbued with Indonesian traditions of animism and mysticism overlaid with Hindu and Buddhist teachings. In a country given to superstition, where ancient patterns of belief coexist with more modern ideas, he consulted gurus and dukuns, spiritual advisers and soothsayers who were believed to be in touch with natural forces. ...

Mr. Suharto brought what became known as the New Order to Indonesia, but at the price of repression. Scholars have estimated that as many as 750,000 people were arrested in the military crackdown after the killing of the generals, and that 55,000 to 100,000 people accused of being Communists may have been held without trial for as long as 14 years.

In the early ’80s, 4,000 to 9,000 people were killed by death squads organized by army Special Forces to deal with petty criminals and some political operatives. And, according to Benedict Richard O’Gorman Anderson, a professor emeritus of government at Cornell, 200,000 people of a population of 700,000 died in East Timor in the civil war and famine after Indonesia’s invasion and annexation in 1975.

Professor Anderson called Mr. Suharto a “malign dictator with blood on his hands — over the years anywhere from half a million to a million people.” ...

Whatever favors were not given to the Suharto family went to friends. A respected Indonesian scholar was quoted by The Times as saying: “At least 80 percent of major government projects go in some form to the president’s children or friends.”

Obama vs. the Clintons

It's looking like Barack Obama has won the South Carolina primary by a huge margin over Hillary Clinton, fueld by an estimated 80% of the votes from black voters and a big margin among young/first-time voters.

It's a big enough margin that all the networks and the AP were calling the race as soon as the polls closed at 7 pm EST, based solely on the exit polls with 0% of the official results in.

Clinton, like in Iowa, is in a dogfight with John Edwards to stay out of third. What does it say that four contests into the 2008 campaign, Hillary is battling just to stay out of third?

Simple--a lot of Democrats don't like her either.

Realclearpolitics.com linked to an interesting Jonathan Chait opinion piece in the L.A. Times, Is the right right on the Clintons? Hillary's campaign tactics are causing some liberals to turn against the couple.

We've gone down this road before; after Iowa, I was pretty certain Obama would take New Hampshire and pretty much sweep the table. I wasn't expecting Hillary to shed tears while simultaneously unleashing hubby Bill's attack tactics, which seemed to work in the contrarian Granite State.

Curious to see what the Clintons pull out starting tomorrow... nobody likes losing, but their ugly side really seems to come out after these things, even if it seemed to have led to a backlash in South Carolina.

My guess is the Clintons are going to try and paint Obama as winning because of blacks, sending the message to white voters that they need to choose sides. Which is ridiculous, given that Obama won Iowa and, as Carl Bernstein just said on CNN, "damn near won all-white New Hampshire."

Hillary's desperate and scared enough that she's doing anything and everything; when this campaign started--3 years ago?!--there was no way she envisioned Bill would be rampaging around the South like Sherman, scorching Obama and essentially playing junk yard dog so she could wash her hands of it all.

It's a huge problem for Hillary; she's essentially eating her seed corn, making herself seem less like her own person and leaving herself open to Republicans running against Billary if she does manage to make it to the general election.

On to Super Tuesday, with 22 states in play; Hillary's still ahead in all of the key ones, except for Illinois and Georgia--but her margin over Obama has been shrinking.

It's ironic given the shameful racial politics in South Carolina that the Clinton camp is touting the key role of the Hispanic vote on Super Tuesday, based mostly on her success with Hispanics in Nevada. I've written before about the dynamics of the African American/Latino electorates in the 2008 race; it'll be interesting to see if Hispanics decide to stick with the status quo Clintons, or sign on to Obama-mania.

Given the relative youth of the Latino voter, I think they're going to give Obama a hard look; there's just over a week before Super Tuesday, the tidal wave out of South Carolina, coupled with the increasingly toxic Clintons, will definitely help make up some minds.

Uncredited photo found in numerous places online.

Songs that get stuck your head

More songs that are hard to shake, following up on a previous post.

-Rehab, Amy Winehouse
Art informing life, and vice versa... I almost feel bad liking this song, given what Winehouse has put into the life. The YouTube embeds have been disabled, but the link is here.

-Istanbul, They Might Be Giants
The faves of college kids everywhere; and geography teachers. Again, embeds disabled, link is here.

-Come on Eileen, Dexys Midnight Runners
Ah, what a ridiculous video, with those overalls--those poor down-trodden Brits.


-Safety Dance, Men Without Hats
If they went on American Idol, I wonder if the judges would love or hate their unique vocal tone? What a bizarre video....


-Nessun Dorma, Paul Potts
A live audience makes such a difference--check out Paul Potts doing part of Nessun Dorma from Puccini's Turandot. As one of the YouTube posters suggest, compare it to Pavarotti's version--it'll seem thin and pale, but Paul's moment of discovery (with a Simon I like better than on Idol) is about something different than music.




-1 2 3 4, Feist
I really am worried at how many songs I'm introduced to through commercials.




-You Are Always on My Mind, Willie Nelson
He's an American treasure, right up there with Mount Rushmore if you ask me--his distinctive twang, the simple effectiveness of his songs, and Farm Aid too. If you had to explain the U.S. to a space alien, you could do a lot worse than play it some Willie. This is a great, sincere performance.



-What are the Chinese up to?
There's an interesting post on the Virtual China blog that pulls a couple of videos off Mingming1986's YouTube channel. She has nearly 1,000 videos of mainly cute, big-eyed Chinese girls singing along to their fave songs.

And you wonder where anime style comes from!



-Hey There Delilah, Plain White Ts
Simple, yet totally infectious; the real-life story is pretty interesting too.


This parody is comedy gold--from the consistently subtle way he interprets lines like 'Hey There' to all the rest of his earnest-seeming hipster miming; it reminds me how shrewd kids can be about the world around them.



See more of the kid's work (if he were less fat how less funny would it be?)

Mote in God's eye

Found an interesting list on About.com, based on a book by Tertius Chandler called Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth: An Historical Census. It's essentially a look at the largest city in the world throughout recorded history.

What caught my eye was how Memphis, Egypt was the world's largest for nearly 1,000 years, followed by the second-place city (Thebes, Egypt for nearly 800 years). Their reigns dwarf that of any other cities.

It's also interesting how over the 5,000 years covered by the list, Rome, London, and New York are the only Western cities that appear.

Year Became #1/City/Population Information

3100 BCE: Memphis, Egypt; Well over 30,000
2240, Akkad, Babylonia (Iraq)
2075, Lagash, Babylonia (Iraq)
2030, Ur, Babylonia (Iraq) 65,000
1980, Thebes, Egypt
1770, Babylon, Babylonia (Iraq)
1670, Avaris, Egypt
1557, Memphis, Egypt
1400, Thebes, Egypt
668, Nineveh, Assyria (Iraq)
612, Babylon, Babylonia (Iraq), First above 200,000
320, Alexandria
300, Pataliputra (Patna), India
195, Changan (Xi'an), China, 400,000
25, Rome, 450,000 (100 CE)
340 CE, Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey, 400,000 (500)
570, Ctesiphon, Iraq
637, Changan (Xi'an), China, 400,000 (622); 600,000 (800)
775, Baghdad, Iraq, First over 1 million; 700,000 (800)
935, Cordova, Spain
1013, Kaifeng, China, 400,000 (1000); 442,000 (1100)
1127, Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey
1145, Merv (Mary), Turkmenistan, 200,000 (1150)
1153, Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey
1170, Fez (Fes), Morocco
1180, Hangzhou, China, 255,000 (1200); 320,000 (1250)
1315, Cairo, Egypt
1348, Hangzhou, China, 432,000 (1350)
1358, Nanking, China, 487,000 (1400)
1425, Beijing, China, 600,000 (1450); 672,000 (1500)
1650, Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey, 700,000 (1650 & 1700)
1710, Beijing, China, 900,000 (1750); 1.1 million (1800)
1825, London, United Kingdom, First over 5 million; 1.35 million (1825); 2.32 million (1850); 4.241 million (1875); 6.480 million (1900)
1925, New York, First over 10 million; 7.774 million (1925), 12.463 million (1950)
1965, Tokyo, First over 20 million; 23 million (1975)

Uncredited photo of the Alabaster Sphynx at Memphis from Egypt a Perspective.

Idol down home

Watching Idol 'live' for once. Am gonna miss zipping past commercials. They're in Charleston, South Carolina, over 10,000 people Ryan guesses. The guy who was first in line had to go take his wife to the hospital, on their anniversary no less.

So instead it's some idiot with an afro, he says people call him the black Clay Aiken; his first name is Ray, but he goes by Raysharde. If he just sang straight it'd be okay, as it he's over-the-top as Randy says and is bad. Next a chick from Pickler's hometown who seems a little nuts, no sense of humor--she sings in such a grim, loud, angry manner; scary person.

Two dorks who met on the Idol message boards. He totally can't sing, she even has to prompt his lines before she joins in, she's just as bad. Man, 15 minutes in and all idiots.

Two fat siblings acting all crazy and loud. Whoah! Michelle and Jeffrey Lampkin--they can sing, and they sound really good together, for all their acting like fools beforehand. It's pretty genuine too. Randy goes with the bro, not the sis; Paula and Simon put them both through. Everyone's laughing as they go shouting out, they're like forces of nature.

Back with the couple on their way to the hospital, they're lost it seems like. Back with more hostile people, all bad. Then some teen dance team chick, preaching abstinence. Randy and Simon start talking trash, she volunteers to give her spiel, and does. Amy Flynn; I think her voice is mediocore and overly-mannered for the most part, but she's attractive and evidently interesting to the judges. Paula likes her, Simon thinks the song is too big for her, she lectures him, he says a lot of people will find you annoying and arrogant, she's aghast; he puts her through anyway, Randy says she has a lot of potential. I totally find her annoying.

They end Day 1, and we've only seen 2 good people. Boy, what a horrible episode; back with the couple giving birth. London Weidburg, they try to make a sob story out of the fact that her dad died of cancer a few years ago and that she had to put her music on hold. Okay.... Also overly-mannered, she sings Billie Holiday but it doesn't flow, it's very deliberate, doesn't grab me. Randy likes her tone, kindof likes it; Paula says the tone's engaging; Simon thought it a good audition, but there are thousands of singers like you, nothing unique.

They show clips of the 12 others who made it through, everyone seems the same. Day 2 starts with Lyndsey Goodman, who flies giant C-17s for the Air Force. She'll be good, of course; they wouldn't show someone disgracing the uniform. Sings Black Velvet, perfect choice for her voice and look; very sincere. I like her; Randy says pretty good, Paula--who's totally serious this year!--worries about her nerves; Simon says cabaret, not contemporary enough. Ugh, they all say no--too bad, I'd have liked seeing her.

Followed by a huge-chested woman; Paula starts cracking up right away, Simon's trying not to. Oooh, she starts off well, then falls apart. Simon doesn't like her outfit or her voice; she argues with Simon, says it's amazing. She turns out to be totally crazy, keeps arguing with all of them. At the end Paula says she's married? Poor husband.

Another deluded fool, this time with a horrible, crazy voice. He tells them the show is fake and rigged; Simon says he's rude and deluded, he says he's not. He stalks out as they're still talking. He's just talking trash about them to the camera, his talent is too big for the competition, then oddly says 'Thanks for the opportunity' at the end.

Yeah, I'm declaring this the worst audition city, ever. Totally pointless show tonight. The baby couple comes back for the third time--and they bring their day-old baby to the audition?! No way.... Oliver Highman; hmmm, he can sing, has a nice, mellow, sincere tone. It's not great, but kindof interesting. Simon cuts him off, way over the top; Paula says it's a nice voice, but not for us. He brings in the baby; congrats all around--Paula wants to change her mind....

Ryan says 23 people made it out; good thing we saw 3! Next up, for some reason, is Omaha.

Michelle and Jeffrey Lampkin, fat siblings
Amy Flynn, no sex
London Weidburg, no dad

Sunny Idol

They open with some old guys in San Diego, which they're visiting for the first time; 12,000 showed up says Ryan. Maybe we'll see some Hispanics and Asian Americans?

Some Russian chick first, Tetian Ostapowych; she looks a bit and sounds a bit like that Food Network host, Giada De Laurentiis. She's not bad, a classic voice; Simon says right off you're not as good as you think you are, you'll never be great. Goes through; obnoxious says Simon. Just Russian, I think.

Next a cool single dad with his son (?!), mom died a few years ago. Good guy; says he had to grow up as a result. Perrie Cataldo can totally sing--Ryan's holding his kid up to the door. Boys to Men; man, he could really get a following, very nice, mellow voice. A bit pitchy at parts; Simon says you have a really good voice, and he's through easily. His son runs in, Simon tries to lie to him, kid says bye-bye.

Some Australian next, Michael Johns; big voice, controlled--good look to him, pretty sincere. Simon likes him, calls him a white soul singer; Paula ditto, Randy impressed.

Of course, bad people next--this being Cali, it's a diverse group. Another in the endless list of Mariah-wannabes; oh jeez. She's totally un-self-aware, of course, even talks about watching the bad auditions. Totally oversings, cracks; at the end is just going for dog register. Simon says oh my god, she thinks he's awed. She says afterwards oh no, I'm gonna be on the rejects now.

Some guy in a sombrero paired with an interpretative mime; then two more arrogant idiots--Simon tells the chick it looks like three different people dressed you today. She's doing Whitney, immediately a bad sign; she suddenly starts crying, walks off. Her friend is just as bad, has that wide-open oblivious look, won't stop singing, as if he can force the issue, is finally escorted out.

Last person of day 1 thinks Simon's really hot, she's definitely got the crazy eyes. Her sis wants to meet Simon, Oprah, and, as Simon reads it, Oberman. Hey wait, Samantha Musa can actually sing; she has kindof a fun personality, a decent look, big smile, very emotive face; and an easy self-confidence. Her sister, who's sitting in as a judge, says it was good; Randy says he's impressed, Paula thought it was naturally good, Simon says it was a great audition.

Day 2 starts with an idiot, who says he's auditioned in at least 10 cities. Says he's lucky his mom is so supportive and takes him everywhere; she says it's the main part of her life. If he wasn't so weak, he doesn't have a horrible voice, does Stand By Me.

Bunch more bad people, then some fatty fan who talks like he's from a fantasy novel. He wrote his own song, Live; the whole thing is a waste of time. He's comforted by his family afterwards.

Some guy keeps singing Leave Me Alone in a dirge, while snapping his fingers, it's actually hypnotic; Paula asks for 10 seconds of something else, Simon says don't be ridiculous as Randy cracks up. Next some kid with a once-paralyzed vocal chord, but a good attitude. Randy's laughing as Paula asks how he got vocal paralysis. David Archuleta; not bad voice, even if he forgets part of the lyrics; nothing special though from my viewpoint even if he's a sweet kid. Randy likes his voice, Paula likes his tone and says he's a sweetheart, Simon loved the song choice and the kid too; Randy actually says he loves him.

We're wrapping it up; Carly Smithson last, originally Irish, big-time tattoos (husband even more, she says he was afraid to go on camera because he's not sure people will like him). She made it to Hollywood in Season 5, disqualified because her visa paperwork didn't come through. I like her immediately--nice quality to her, good tone even when she's just speaking. Has a good voice, but a bit over-the-top, like she cares too much and it isn't just flowing. Paula obviously likes her, Simon says it wasn't as good as two years ago; Randy says yes--Simon too at the end. She breaks down crying talking to Ryan, her husband is obviously a really good guy. She's very genuine talking to the camera afterwards.

30 others (!) made it out of San Diego, we get clips of the 24 others (hey, some Asian Americans among them!) South Carolina next.

Carly Smithson, tattoo woman
Perrie Cataldo, single dad
Samantha Musa, Simon fan
Michael Johns, Australian
David Archuleta, vocal paralysis
Tetian Ostapowych, Russian

Super-sized Idol

Finally getting around to watching night 2 of American Idol; they're in Dallas, which is where they found Kelly Clarkson nigh so many years ago. Strains of the J.R. theme (my gosh, the 80s were ages ago); Texas-sized freaks, and apparently it's hot too.

They briefly touch on the contestant who went into labor, one out of 13,000. Apparently Paula showed up late (in a crazy flowered dress). Jessica Brown up first, she'll be good; apparently a big partier in college, became a meth addict. Hmm, Bo Bice will be happy to know having a drug conviction is now seen as appealing by American Idol.

It's a pretty inspiring story, actually; anyone can come back from anything in America. Good thing for Simon. Sings Stand By You; it's over-sung, but a good choice of song; a bit pitchy, but not a bad voice, there's conviction in it (I've seen the dark side too), some emotion. They show quite a bit of it, unlike with the other 'good' people. Simon nails it--you made the song interesting, it was a good audition but.... So weird, though--hardly a teen idol.

Some weirdo dancing; earnest but dorky, works at a ballpark. What we call a big galoot; funny, reminds me a bit of Taylor. Butchers a song sung by Elliott Yamin. Okay, let's move on, we get it, he's horrible. He claims his family gave him two thumbs up, Simon says they must be very nice. Paula keeps calling it joyful, but I think he's just a bit slow, claps a lot, like a seal. Simon does a droll imitation of him afterwards.

Another idiot girl, Kelly-wannabe; why do these people even try out--she was a singing waitress at a fondue restaurant. This insane falsetto voice, like she's singing through her nose, but at max volume, it's hard to listen to. 'Beautiful disaster' says Randy, Simon says let's go with the last word. Her friends are very supportive, maybe the three of them together....

They string together a bunch of bad ones; I wonder if anyone has ever pretended to be horrible for the producers, then shocked the judges by singing great. Alaina Whitaker, she says people compare her to Carrie Underwood. She can either be horrible, or not bad--has that overbearing arrogance. I think bad... ha, surprisingly not bad, I like her. Has an interesting, strong, soulful voice--her attitude is more bearable when she sings. Not as good as you think you are, says Simon; good singer, though. They're deliberating about her, put her through.

Back, everyone seems to be wearing sandals. A unsettling discordant duo, why don't people just try their best, without the gimmicks. Idiot son and crazy dad; Bruce Dickson says he's never done nuttin with no woman, his dad gave him a key at 13, dad wears around his neck the heart the key fits into. Actually seems like an okay guy, just weird. Hmm, interesting guy, good voice, lot of soul in it. They wonder if he's voice is good enough for the room, not on TV/the radio... wow, they say no. I'd have put him through, interesting guy.

Pia 'Zpia' Easley, weirdo haircut but a good speaking voice, I like her right away. She can sing, too; very bluesy, and straight-ahead confident. Again, she'll never win, but she can sing--Simon starts grinning, likes her, says she's interesting, don't have the demeanor of a backup singer--confident, stylish, like you a lot. Seems pretty humble, big cheer when she runs out.

They're gonna waste some time on a guy who's been saving his peeled fingernails since he was a kid or something, it's idiotic. Brandon Green; hmm, he has an interesting voice--good choice of song, Rich Girl by Hall n' Oates; good pacing. Like a country boy who amuses himself by singing. Simon says he's forgettable, Paula says she likes him, Randy likes him--wow, a freak makes it through! This guy's got something that I think the chicks could like, too bad the whole fingernails thing is what people are gonna remember.

Some chick with an odd voice, Kayla Hatfield, farm girl; was in a bad car wreck; hmm, actually profile makes her seem like a good person, family definitely is good people. Her face was messed up, only one good eye--a really good attitude. But can she sing? Not sure, voice is heliumish. Very nervous. Sings Janis Joplin, powerfully--the totally perfect, maybe only, choice for her. Almost too much, too raw--so weird her speaking and singing voice are totally different. Simon says yes, under the assumption most rock singers should be slightly mad, in a good way. Paula's been much more serious this year, giving good advice, and surprisingly says no; Simon starts lobbying Randy to give her a chance. Wow, totally improbable; I feel bad for her roommate in Hollywood.

Some bad people, who don't know it. A pretty cute chick finishes the day, Kady Milloy; she does impressions. Britney one is pretty funny. Man, she's got some attitude, in a good way; Simon stops her, says sing you. So she does Unchained Melody, it's pretty good--you wanna listen. Not sure if she's just a great actress. Simon says you're the best so far this year, super, super talented. Paula says come and sing your own songs.

They now show briefly the 11 other people who made it through on Day 1, but who they decided not to show. Day 2 starts with a dork (you can tell from the background music, even if nothing else). He turns around and warms up with the judges there, it's pathetic; so nervous or something, he starts and stops as he sings, doesn't complete words; like he's hyperventilating. The guy lives in a world of his own, is walking around in a big circle, drinking water. The kind of person who becomes a serial killer, he's so divorced from reality and society and doesn't listen. Simon cuts him off, I don't want to hear any more of this stupidity. He keeps singing, it's crazy, keeps wanting to sing more. Security walks him off, Simon says they're gonna take you somewhere safe.

Some sparkly girl, Angela Reilly. Could be dumber than dirt; has some weird chin thing going on. She goes on and on about her marriage and her husband, who's a professional model. She can't sing; just over-the-top. Like someone you'd see on rollerskates at a car hop; her husband says he thought it was awesome. Paula just wants to keep him around, gets her to sing another song. They keep quizzing him to see what he thinks of her vocals, for real.

Back with more idiots. They talk about Texas' political history, some nerd boy, Kyle Ensley, who pretends he's running for the office of next American Idol. These kids with tin ears never become real politicians. They show all his outtakes, it's funny. "In case it isn't obvious this is a joke" they say after his fake commercial. His voice isn't horrible, actually; if he looked totally different and didn't have a gimmick it wouldn't be so bad. Simon says you weren't as bad as I though you were going to be; says yes, to put him through Hollywood! Randy says he feels like he was at a glee club, it was very academic; says no. Paula asks how much you want this, he bubbles over with enthusiasm, she's gotta say yes--and does. Man, there are a ton of talented black female singers who just put their foot through the tv.

Some near-comatose, very deliberate woman--man, you just never know now!--is played for laughs. Sings the Power of Love, is just horrible, like a start and stop munchkin. Paula points out you're singing If You Ask Me To; she's much sharper this season, like she's become impatient with the act. She is a nice person, just completely unaware.

By my count they gotta show us 3 more winners in the next 24 minutes. Colton Swon, who looks and talks like someone good. Silly spiky hair, but good demeanor. Sings Boondocks, classic good-ole country boy who can sing, I like him. Don't get lost in your own performance, says Simon; it was okay, but not unique. Gets through, despite an apathetic Simon. He asks them to pretend he was horrible, so he can trick his parents--it's pretty funny, people like him generally do well in Hollywood, confident but not overbearing.

Back with some transsexual-like peeps; then people who just can't sing. The line of the night, maybe the entire 7 years of Idol so far, is the contestant who says: "Here's a picture of me as a guy, here's me as a girl, so I just want to show you guys that I'm ver-sa-tile." Ha!

Drew Poppelreiter, with his entire family, they seem like good folks. He's a farmer; just a down-home boy. Looking forward to him meeting up with the horses girl; never gotten on a plane before. It's almost like they're acting the way they've seen farm boys act in movies--but he does seem genuine. Yes sir/no ma'am kind of guy. Doing George Strait, wow, he has an excellent, deep, resonant voice--this is my favorite voice so far, everyone's grinning. Wow, Simon says no, not his thing; Randy likes him, serious Paula says you are who you are, no wow factor though; but winds up saying yes, even after Simon teases her about it. "I'm going to Hollywood--what about that?!" to the camera... yeah, how about them apples!

It's idiotic to go from that to some jerk of a twerp, who's overproduced. Though he does work with kids... weird one. So intense when he sings it's almost hostile; fact that he's working eyeliner doesn't help; also that he pretends he's holding a mike makes the whole thing over the top. Very disturbing, slightly demonica says Simon; your eyes are pretty menacing, they all agree the eyes are crazy.

For like the 22nd time they go back to Kelly Clarkson; do a montage of bad people singing her songs. Hey, where are all the Hispanics?! This is Texas, right?! Wooh, Nina Shaw, from Clarkson's home town--a tall drink of water as they say, very leggy. She can, of course, sing--good pitch, too. Very old-fashioned says Simon, too cabaret; Paula says too pagent-like. Sings again, Randy likes her, fits her into the throwback stuff going on. Simon disagrees, Paula goes with Randy, and she's through. Simon's too idiosyncratic sometime at the audition stage; he'd rather display himself than give good people a chance to go through.

Well, they've shown 10 good ones, so we know we're back with nothing but idiots. One last person, some guy all in white, with some cape. I guess they're back to the make fun of immigrants thing. They're just laughing at his get-up; he's gonna sing his own composition, We're Brothers Forever. It's crazy; his voice has some potential, maybe, but he's just nuts.

The song's a bit infectious actually--I am your brother/best friends forever/we're brothers until the end of time/together or not/you're always in my heart. He just booms it out; this is fun, even if the judges are just mocking it all. Randy goes up and dances with him, Paula runs out screaming, Randy brings in Ryan, he's left singing alone to Simon. He keeps singing the lyrics, it's pretty funny, actually. Now Paul's doing some sortof crazy dance, it's funny. Simon says he has a horrible feeling it's going to be a hit record; they shake hands, then hug. They play up his admiration for Simon, it's kindof dorky at the end.

24 in all make it out of Dallas; this was one of the most entertaining cities I can remember. San Diego is next.

Here are my favorites out of Dallas; too bad we won't see anymore of that brothers guy.

Except in things like this:



Drew Poppelreiter, country boy
Kady Milloy, impressions
Nina Shaw, tall black woman
Colton Swon, country boy
Pia 'Zpia' Easley, mohawak girl
Brandon Green, fingernails guy
Alaina Whitaker, Carrie Underwood wannabe
Jessica Brown, ex-meth addict
Kayla Hatfield, car accident
Kyle Ensley, politician

New hope for American Idol

Ah, American Idol is back... am half excited, half afraid. Hope it'll be as good this year as it was a couple of years ago; fearful it'll be as much of a slog as last year.

The opening montage is even more hyper-edited than ever; it's making me dizzy, and a bit anxious. Somewhere in there is the next Idol, promises Ryan. Well... I guess we'll see.

Philadelphia is the first of the seven this year. Apparently some famous things have happened here; funny going from Ben Franklin to Rocky.

"Biggest crowd ever" says Ryan; they seem to fill the home of the 76ers. There's only so many ways they can show the judges filing in, but here they are again.

First up is Joey Catalano, who's shed 204 pounds in a short time apparently. He says he's gonna show us he's still the same person inside, just on fire. Randy cheers his loss; sings Maroon 5, Sunday morning. It's allright; nothing so compelling about his falsetto to my ears. Oh boy, two more hours of this.... Simon says great voice, but not sure if he's Idol material, but good voice; the others fall in line, he's in (shakes their hands after asking if he can approach them).

Some weight jokes from the panel; then the first of hundreds of commercials, to be followed by the opening of the freak show. Some recent immigrant from Egypt, seems very sincere (especially about his love for the Bee Gees and American girls) but unfortunately I don't think the dude can sing. Supposedly his friend told him he's got a sexy face... is his friend Borat? This segment goes on waaaaay too long. He goes in, Ryan's grimaces behind his back; Paula--who's Lebanese--can actually say his first name, Alaa; the others have some issues. Ah, yes, making fun of someone's name never goes outof style; then they mess around with his infatuation with Paula.

He's not horrible, actually, singing a Bee Gees song; kindof doesn't get the words quite right, but it's very sincere, and has a nice tone. Were this American Dreamz, he'd be through; Paula praises stuff about him, Simon goads her to be specific about why she doesn't think it's right for him, long silence; Randy says sorry, Simon just piles on.

You know, if this is the way the new season's gonna be, Idol's gonna totally fail--he's a sweet guy, they're being jerks about it, as Paula says; Idol's core audience isn't a bunchof sarcastic guys from NYC, this kindof mean-spiritedness isn't gonna play.

Melanie Nyema next, she totally oversings, not bad tone but stops short after a few bars. Paula says oddly she really likes her, Simon says neither here nor there; Randy likes her. So weird--why didn't they show more of her?! She's in, though; who knows why.

James Lewis next, in a odd orangeish suit, sings Go Down Moses in a deep, bizarre voice, like he's drunk or a slowed-down record. The brain trust except for Simon is just laughing at him, hiding their faces like it makes it any better. Simon chuckles at the end, he starts singing something else, they break in and say this isn't your thing. Paula asks him to forgive them for laughing... yeah, it's as simple as that.

I don't know, I really am not digging any of this. It's just not that entertaining to make fun of people you know are bad. Some guy butchers Simon's fave Unchained Melody; some girl gets told to shut up, some Asian American destroys a lullabye.

Junot Joyner breaks it up, you know he's going to be good just based on the quiet way he presents himself, and he is. Jose Candelaria sings an aria, he's good; Jonathan Baines sings simply, he's good too. Wow, they just zipped past these guys, is this the new strategy--show very little of the best, dwell on the worst?!

They spend a bunch of time on Temptress Browne; big, dark girl who plays football. She has a good story, doing it for her mom, who's huge and can barely breathe amazingly. Wow, it turns she does a lot for her mom; okay, it turns out to be a better story than the initial setup. Let's hope she can sing.... She's very polite, all yes ma'am to Paula; 10 kittens in her house, too. Belts out I'm Not Going Nowhere, which she attributes to Jennifer Hudson. Eh, it's not good; not totally bad, but not good enough. She starts crying, big-time; Paula and Randy give her a hug, then they all go outside with her fam. Is Idol turning into a bad version of Oprah?

I'm really seeing an identity crisis here; we're 1/4 of the way through, and so far it's been all sob stories and freaks. Just super-short snippets of the good singing, which in past years was one of the best parts of this round, practically the only real diamond-in-the-rough moments left.

Back with Mark Hayes, who has a good look to him and can imitate a cricket. Jeez, he's not singing White Christmas... yes, he is, and it's cheezy and boring. He just stops at some point, they play up the whole silence/no reaction bit.

Hmm, is funny immigrants gonna be the theme this year?! Some silly South Asian guy doing MC Hammer in the hallways. You know, I haven't laughed once yet tonight. Does My Way for the judges; it's ridiculous, but very confidently delivered. Simon just mocks him, asks if he seriously thought he had any chance of getting through, he says yeah, Simon says you're nuts. He keeps asking for advice, constructive criticism, even wants to sing again; they like making fun of his name.

A bunch of bad people doing lines from I Love Rock N Roll. Some really crazy costumes/hair/voices. Really, they're producing this show within an inch of its life--with all the crazy real stuff on YouTube, they can't possibly compete this way.

Some weird rock chick after the break. Wow, they even went to her home, she lives in a studio with her mom, is studying to be a vet; paints, draws. Why are they wasting so much of our time on people they've already previewed as being bad?! In her case they've already promoed her cursing out Simon, it's just silly. She's totally freaky when she starts singing, Don't You Want Somebody to Love, like an alien down from space. Simon says she's a bit possessed, like she's channeling voices. She's stunned by their rejection, genuinely seems surprised; walks off pretty peacefully.

Then outside starts going off on Simon for some reason. She gets worked up more and more, how dare he; excuse me, you, sir, suck. (ha, 3 commas in a 5-word sentence! She vocalizes her thoughts, and totally goes crazy. Her mom says he's English, that's his #1 problem. My gosh, she gives the camera the finger multiple times. She's ranting and swearing at the camera on her way out of the hotel, there are some shocked guests standing behind her.

It's sad, but the most telling footage we see of the good contestants is from the teasers as they go to commercial. Back, montages of people who made Hollywood who we never heard sing (yes, this is a singing show). Then, Angela Martin and her family; she had a baby in high school, who has a cerebral palsy-like disease. I'm sure Angela can sing, cause otherwise this would be waaay too cruel; the entire family is breaking down talking about it all. Simon likes her cuteness; she has a bit of the Paris Bennett voice thing going on. From Chicago, full-time as a singer, does Signed, Sealed and Delivered. Has a good Motown voice, they actually show her singing for a bit. She, like all the other talented African American woman in the contest, will only go so far though, it's too hard to get all crazy about some with this type of genuine backstory. Simon tells her not to work it so hard, de-weddingize her style.

Simon says afterwards, as her family is going crazy, he could never celebrate with someone he knew just cause they got good news. Off to day 2, which they're promoing as hot girls come out.

They recap what we just saw, then start wtih some twitchy, crazy-dancing chick in a pink dress, Alyse Wojciechowski. She seems pretty well put-together, but when she starts singing my god she is loud and strident. More bad nightmarish loud singing; some old guy wants to get in to audition, he has a message for the Idol audience, wants to sing No Sex Allowed. Hey, he's a social worker and a singer-songwriter, says people need to hear his songs. Milo Turk... pretty nuts, some odd accent, the chorus is pretty hilarious, it's apparently meant for kids to chant along with a hand movement.

Hey, just noticed they got rid of the people can't get out of the door gimmick! Next, Kristy Lee Cook who lives in a log cabin in Oregon, and trains for cage fighting, drops in she's needed the self-defense skills a few times. Some nice shots of her riding, had to sell a horse to pay her way to Philadelphia. She's cute and blonde, singing Amazing Grace; she can sing, nice tone. Will be fun to have her around--I mean a horse-riding cage fighting hot backswood girl, how can you resist?! Simon likes her sincerity, they all like her, she's in.

It's hard after a quality contestant like that to come back to some freak in a cloak. He says he wanted it to be a surprise, Simon says what, he says my costume, Simon says so that's not your costume, he takes it off and he's dressed in a Princess Leahish outfit, with lots of hair. Paula/Randy mess around with him, says he can wax the hair off and come back.

More bad people, then a montage of peole swearing, some weird-looking stalkerish guy who wrote a love song for Paula, he's totally creepy and the song is really scary, it's about stalking Paula, he's very intense, the lyrics are getting totally nutso, Simon trys to get him to stop, he refuses; Simon tells him to leave, security comes up and escorts him out. And Randy was just laughing, as Paula shrunk back; Simon's actually a pretty decent guy.

Hey, a contestant from Michigan, she immediately seems nice, brought her toddler. Beth Stalker, polite even though Simon's rude at the start. Has a good voice, does Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered; very classic performance, haven't seen this from a woman before. Simon stops her, says he doesn't think she'd stand out, says no; Randy says yes, Paula agrees. I think Simon's wrong... she's nice, hopefully has something inside.

They return with the costume guy, now waxed apparently. My gosh, he's red all over. It's even more disturbing, actually. He starts dancing, Simon cuts him off, it's totally ridiculous, he's just up there to be crazy. He walks out, Simon says why does some guy that fat want to be on TV.

Hey, someone who deserves air time, Chris Watson, interesting-looking guy with dreads, he has a good calmness to him; soft-spoken, sings well, nice different tone to it. Simon says you seem like a star, good all around. Chicks will like you, says Simon. Cool, he has his fam with him outside, so he won't turn out to be some idiot.

Back, apparently bad people explaining their rejection afterwards; two girls left, so you know one bad, one good. First up is some Princess Leahish chick, she needs to get together with cape guy. She's totally nuts, the eyes, the look, her way of talking--one of these chicks who just vocalizes way too much; also something oddly mannish about her. Just a dork/jerk in front of the judges, her grandparents seem nice but out of it. She's actually not horrible, but not up to Idol standards. Okay, now she's horrible.... It's too bad, with a lot of polishing she could be interesting-looking, instead of just weird. She keeps telling them the show needs a goofball... maybe, but how about one who could sing?! She's totally manic, breaks down in front of her disapproving grandparents afterwards, swears a few times.

Brooke White--who's a nanny--kindof sneaks into the room while the tirade is going on, I like her at once; she was brushing the crazy chick's hair, had this funny look when the extensions popped off. She's very sweet with the kids she takes care of. Says she's never seen a rated-R movie, something very innocent and from an earlier time about her. Oooh, what a neat voice--it's compelling, controlled, I really like it. The best I've heard today. Randy says something pure about the voice, Simon says you're sincere, nice voice, a bit wordy but good. Celebrates funny afterwards too.

They do a montage of some of the others at the end, for like .2 seconds each. A very attractive chick is part of it; some interesting looking people, we'll see how they pan out (including a Mr. T-ish guy).

Off to Dallas tomorrow; I'm half-excited. I really don't understand the thinking behind not showing good people early though; it's a good thing presidential campaigns aren't run this way.

Here's who I liked out of Philly, in rough order (really, how much can you tell at this point, editing has so much to do with impressions). They say 29 went through, it's sad we only saw 10.

Brooke White, no rated-R movies
Beth Stalker, Michigan mother
Kristy Lee Cook, cage fighter
Chris Watson, dreads
Junot Joyner
Jose Candelaria, aria guy
Jonathan Baines
Angela Martin, with the baby
Melanie Nyema, girl who sang for a few seconds
Joey Catalano, guy who lost all the weight

Exception that shames the rule

From Liam Fitzpatrick's post on the death of Kevin Sinclair, who he calls "the doyen of Hong Kong’s press corps":

Kevin was disliked by Hong Kong’s liberal intelligentsia, who depicted him as a barking, right-wing grump. He had a gruff, pugnacious writing style, and championed deeply un-modish things like law and order. But on re-reading his work, it strikes me that posterity will see him rather differently. Here was a man who chanced upon a library copy of Edgar Snow’s Red Star Over China at the age of 14, and developed from that a lifelong passion for China. From the moment he arrived in Hong Kong in his 20s, he refused to inhabit the comfy confines of Western media circles, or to subscribe to their patronizing stereotypes of Chinese people and society. In later life, he became a foremost authority on the village culture of Hong Kong’s New Territories, and the only English-language journalist to achieve any sort of profile among the Chinese population. Most Western journalists in Hong Kong never learn to speak Cantonese. Kevin insisted on speaking it despite a tracheotomy at the age of 33.

Cinema musings

Brains too, actually
Charles McGrath's Commanding Attention in or Out of Costume

A word Ms. Knightley uses often about herself is “obsessed.” “I’m quite obsessed with film,” she said. “I absolutely love watching it. I love knowing how movies are made, and I love being a part of them.” Over the course of lunch she rattled off half a dozen performances she had been studying lately, especially George Clooney and Tilda Swinton in “Michael Clayton,” Marion Cotillard in “La Vie en Rose” and Chazz Palminteri in “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints.” But her most detailed commentary, oddly, was about some oldies, “On the Waterfront” for example.

“That scene with Rod Steiger and Marlon Brando in the back of the cab,” she said. “Amazing! Today you’d never hold that scene in a two-shot. You’d be in quite close, and you’d be constantly back and forth. But there the shot is always quite wide, and the atmosphere between the actors, because it’s so held back, is completely amazing. I got quite obsessed by it.”

She also talked about “Brief Encounter,” Noël Coward’s classic weeper, set in 1945, and “In Which We Serve,” Coward’s patriotic saga about the crew of a British destroyer, which she and the rest of the cast of “Atonement” watched, along with Mr. Wright, as part of their World War II homework.

“I was very aware of the American films of that period, but not the British ones,” she said. “I don’t know why that is, but I think it may have to do with the accent. It’s a bit jarring. You don’t hear that accent in Britain anymore. After the ’50s it suddenly became uncool to sound that posh.

“But it’s such an incredible style — virtually without pauses. Today’s style is sort of pseudonaturalism, but actually not at all. There are a lot of indulgent pauses and a very definite rhythm to the way we work, and then to watch these people — it’s like machine-gun fire, where we would have been so labored. They just steam through. I actually sort of prefer it. Very matter-of-fact and yet you totally feel it. It’s very liberating.”

She paused and then apologized for going on. “Sorry,” she said. “But if you’re going to be part of this business, I think you have to be a little bit like this. You have to be a bit obsessed.”

They're Germans too!
Nicholas Kulish's A Hand That Links Germans and Turks

Fatih Akin has earned the right to be a little exasperated about the constant focus on his Turkish-German identity.

“Imagine I’m a painter, and we speak more about the background of the paintings than the foreground of the paintings, or we speak about the framing but not about the painting,” said Mr. Akin, a German film director and the son of Turkish immigrants. “For sure this is frustrating, and for sure that’s why I will leave it behind sooner or later.” ...

Then came the surprise triumph of “Head-On,” which won the top prize, the Golden Bear, at the Berlin International Film Festival. Mr. Akin was unprepared for the celebrity it brought him in Germany as well as in Turkey. He was instantly seen as a cultural spokesman, far beyond his role as a filmmaker, to a large extent because of his Turkish roots, at a time when Germans were re-examining their complex relationship with their country’s large Muslim minority. About 2.7 million people of Turkish descent live in Germany today. ...

Brought over as so-called guest workers decades ago, most of the Turkish migrants never went home. But as a group they have not been embraced by mainstream German society

Imagine Hopper on a Lynch film
Dennis Lim's If You Need a Past, He’s the Guy to Build It

Mr. Fisk cited Edward Hopper’s famous painting of light-streaked storefronts, “Early Sunday Morning,” as an inspiration for the main street. The mansion he built in Mr. Malick’s “Days of Heaven” was modeled on “House by the Railroad,” another Hopper painting.

“Hopper would have been a great production designer,” Mr. Fisk said. “In art school I used to say, ‘Oh, Hopper, he’s just an illustrator,’ but he grows on you. He simplifies images, and that’s what production design is. If you understand the image immediately, it doesn’t take you away from the action.” ...

Mr. Fisk said his do-it-all approach might be a holdover from youthful diffidence. He landed his first art-directing gig (on the 1971 bikersploitation film “Angels Hard as They Come”) without a clear sense of the job description. “I was so scared of not doing what I was supposed to do that I did everything,” he said.

It was Mr. [David] Lynch who got Mr. Fisk his first job on a movie. Mr. Lynch, by then enrolled at the American Film Institute, had a job casting gold bricks from plaster on a western that was shooting in Utah. The work was so tedious that after a while he asked if his friend Jack could take over.

Recalling his first impression of Mr. Fisk at 14, Mr. Lynch said, “I thought he was a loser.” But they soon struck up a friendship. “In the whole high school we were basically the only artists,” Mr. Lynch recalled. “In this conservative world all we wanted to do was paint and live the art life.”

Photo of Keira Knightley from People

Scoring the New Hampshire debates

I generally have little patience for people who rip all politicians, saying they're corrupt and nothing is ever going to change. It's all empty, feel-good bombast; the most vocal cynics are generally the same people who never pick up a newspaper, who put no work into their civic responsibilities and would certainly never stay in on a Saturday night to watch candidates debate (or if they were home would be watching playoff football--and not just at commercials). We do, indeed, get the leaders we deserve.

ABC put on two extraordinary debates tonight from New Hampshire, hosting all the major Republican and Democratic candidates in a unique format in conjunction with WMUR (New Hampshire's most important media outlet along with the Union Leader) and Facebook.

I thought the candidates were all interesting and intelligent, with a lot of good moments of disagreement and some telling exchanges. It was democracy at its best, with both the politicians and the media at their best.

The Republicans started--I was surprised at how reasonable they all seemed (I have to admit I missed much of the first 45 minutes watching the amazing Redskins-Seahawks game), and how interesting the level of discourse was.

Mitt Romney got smacked around by everyone, but he did a pretty good job of forcefully and directly answering attacks--an executive that was on top of the facts. He didn't seem very likeable though; a bit overbearing, and generally grimaced rather than smiled.

John McCain seemed old and physically a bit infirm; however his devilish sense of humor was in evidence, generally with barbs directed at Romney. I worry about things like stamina with him; but I do like him best of the Republicans even if I disagree with all of his policies, and thought his answer to what his enduring principles were (essentially the Constitution he swore to defend in the Navy) was tone-perfect.

His worst political moment was on illegal immigration--I loved his answer and his initial reminder that "they're" all God's children, but he stumbled in the following cross-exchange and seemed to be talking past the other candidates' attacks. He should've just said look, you all sound racist as hell and I am not going to be part of a party that keeps calling other Americans--many of whom, although illegal, have been tax-paying members of our communities for many years--"they". And there's no way in hell we're the kind of country that's going to run 12 million people out of town.

I was surprised by Mike Huckabee--he was much more likeable and reasonable than I had thought, and it made me think if he wasn't such an evangelical nut I might actually enjoy hearing more from him. He kept the crazy religion talk under cover for one night, and seemed at moments like the adult at the table as McCain/Romney/Rudy Giuliani/Fred Thompson sparred.

The wannabe-dictator of NYC had an okay night; he wasn't really memorable, and just earnestly kept trying to inject his 9/11 experience and manufactured foreign policy expertise into everything. I feel as if Giuliani was on a different page from everyone else, smiling and fiddling while the early states pass so he can implement his master plan of winning big states where people form their impressions from TV rather than actual knowledge.

Speaking of TV, Thompson also surprised me; he was funnier and smarter than he's seemed, and although played the part of grumpy old man a little too much he did often cut through the sniping with an appropriately tart remark that made everyone laugh and reassess. He has no chance, of course, but it explained a little bit why some Republican faithful were so enamored with him before he actually started to run (and why he finished third in Iowa).

Finally, and the Republicans did have like 2 too many people on stage, Ron Paul was fine--he came across as articulate and passionate sometimes (we need to cut the deficit), just plain nuts other times (does he support a return to a gold-based monetary system?)

The most interesting moment for the Republicans came when WMUR's political director Scott Spradling asked how they'd differentiate themselves from Barack Obama. None of them really hit him hard--they all expressed respect for him, with Huckabee even saying he thought all the Republicans needed to hear his message for change otherwise they were going to lose. It was startling; some of it was smart politics, because I think they all deep down would rather run against the possibly raw Obama than the battle-tough Clinton; however, I felt it was also genuine--they do all seem to like him, even if they think he's a liberal, and really, it almost seemed like he was some elder statesman the way they talked about him.

In this vein, after the 90 minutes were up Charlie Gibson earned his paycheck for the year by asking the Democrats to join the Republicans on stage, as a reminder that no matter who we elect we'll all support the new president. It was an extraordinary moment, and the audience applauded loud and long as it stretched into a few minutes of well-intentioned public servants shaking hands (arms around each other in the case of Hillary Clinton and McCain). Obama, as George Stephanopolous also noticed, came out first and started working the line like a pro.

On the Democratic side John Edwards did the best overall--he was consistent in his anti-entrenched interests spiel, was passionate, articulate, and seemed like a viable candidate (even if he blinks like a girl). I thought it was interesting that he aligned himself so clearly with Obama's themes, coming to his defense a few times. I don't think it's a winning strategy--he has neither money nor organizational strength outside of the early states, and runs the risk of coming across as Obama's VP in waiting. He's strong enough rhetorically to stand on his own two feet; why jump in when your only rival for the anti-Hillary is getting beat up? He doesn't really think Clinton's gonna drop out before he does... does he?

I was also surprised by Bill Richardson; he started off with a horrible answer on Pakistan/terrorism, where you felt like he was an unprepared student making up something in class. But as the night went on he came across as a practical executive with some good, down-to-earth ideas--I think he might make an excellent Secretary of State. He didn't look totally out of place, which I'm sure was his goal for the night.

Hillary Clinton was her usual steely, intelligent, direct self--she had a moment when she was almost shouting when articulating all the change she's actually pushed through (prompting Richardson's line of the night, that he'd been in hostage negotiations that are a lot more civil than this).

She did seem a bit impatient, like come on, who are these neophytes to be talking back to me; but as always seemed ready to be president, although maybe a 'hold-your-nose-and-vote-for-her' one. In the break between the first and second parts she must have been advised to not be so grim; she laughed and actually even simpered in response to the first question, about her likeability being low in polls in comparison to Obama, capping her girlish reaction by smiling and said she, too, thought Obama was a likeable guy. Perhaps sensing he was being patronized a bit (aka Joe Biden and his clean/smart remark) Obama tartly said "I think you're likeable, enough"; for some reason Hillary then laughed and said thanks for saying that.

I do think Obama took some hits tonight; he stumbled a bit early, and Clinton probably scored some points with her sharp remarks about words being no substitute for hard work. However, and this is a huge however--the moments I remember from the night are mainly his. He gave a pitch-perfect response to Gibson's question about whether the surge in Iraq seems to have worked, denying the premise by saying it only seems that way because the bar's been set so low by giant failure. It made all the other candidates' technocratic quibblings seem stupid. He turned Hillary's premise about pretty speeches meaning nothing around on her, saying he thought words can matter a lot when people are hungry to be led.

Obama did this a number of times during the night, parrying critiques by saying essentially expand your narrow Washington outlook and don't get bogged down arguing point by point. He's uniquely good at this, with his cadence, his smile, his demeanor, his background. It's why he's going to win New Hampshire, he inspires you even if you don't always agree with all his positions (and I happen to, in general).

Obama resonates with ordinary people because he's just like us, but more competent. One of the funniest moment of the night was when he was asked about his reaction to what the Republicans had said about him; he said well, I was watching their debate, but I have to admit I also watched a lot of the football game.

At which point Charlie Gibson asked him how the Redskins had done, Obama informed him they'd lost, Gibson expressed disgust, and everyone laughed.

AP Photo by Steven Senne

Caucusing with Iowa

C-SPAN is broadcasting the caucus from Theodore Roosevelt High School in Des Moines. It's a huge, overflow crowd--which bodes well for Obama statewide if it's at all typical of the other 1,781 locations.

I wonder how long until this giant 21st century country no longer starts the process of picking a leader via this weird, wonderful method.

7:00 p.m. CST: It opens with the Obama precinct captain nominating the Clinton precinct captain to be the night's chair; she's voted in by a clear majority voice vote, at which point she turns around and nominates him to be tonight's secretary.

7:10 p.m. CST: They huddle, decide where each candidate's supporters should gather, and then the chair announces 375 people are in the crowd, which may be a record. She tells people where to go for each preference group.

7:15 p.m. CST: And the crowd disperses into each corner, gathering around signs for each candidate. The camera goes around, the OEC clumps are big, but even candidates like Richardson seem to have countable support--in this case they do the math and say groups have to have at least 56 members to be viable.

ABC's blog is reporting a giant crowd at another Des Moines high school; the NYTimes blog is watching C-SPAN; the Washington Post's blog doesn't seem to be covering the caucuses in real time.

7:20 p.m. CST: C-SPAN shows a Richardson supporter trying to peel someone away from the Dodd group. There's cheering in the room from one corner.

7:25 p.m. CST: Via Tribune's blog, the link for Iowa's Democratic Party results, and Republican Party results.

Obama's leading, then Edwards, then Clinton so far at this precinct, pre-nonviability merge. Dodd's group is already disintegrating. It's great hearing normal people talk and argue publicly, with something real at stake.

7:30 p.m. CST: ABC's blog is saying it's looking like Obama's night, based on "the chaos at overrun caucus sites."

Clinton supporters are giving out hugs as they get new supporters; although technically, they just announce you're not suppose to move for another few minutes.

But Obama's clearly the largest group in this room, according to a Biden supporter who's wondering if he should change.

It's odd--this could be astonishing history in the making if Obama wins, like watching over the shoulder as precinct captains in Chicago committed vote fraud for Kennedy.

There seems to be a lot of confusion about when groups aren't viable; the Richardson people seem to be pretty agressive in this room about peeling off other people's supporters, theoretically it's not even 30 minutes yet.

7:37 p.m. CST: Chair says you need 57 to be viable, apparently nobody except the big 3 is viable--although some Richardson folks seem to think they're viable. Now the horse trading starts, they have 15 minutes.

Richardson is desperately doing another count; funny that so much depends on group dynamics. They're up to 47, need 10 more.... Now's the decision point--disband, or keep trying. People are just standing around; where's his precinct captain?

The small Biden group is trying to decide where to go, harangued by Edwards people. One voter says he'd have switched to Edwards, but nobody from the campaign ever got back to him on a question he had so now he's supporting Obama; Edwards' supporter just repeats dogma and says Edwards is the most viable--the voter responds look at tonight, pointing at the huge Obama crowd.

I think people are going to be shocked by Obama's victory margin; clearly something pretty unprecedented is happening.

From ABC's blog: "Obama folks are saying turnout they're expecting is 207,000. Holy schmoly. If that happens, Obama will win in a romp."

From NYTimes' blog: "All indications are that turnout is huge tonight. Our colleagues out in the caucuses are reporting bigger turnouts than last year. A message from the Edison/Mitofsky pollsters, who are conducting entrance polls, says that on the Democratic side, they have four vote reporters who are not being let into the caucuses to observe the initial preference, with the fire marshal in some cases telling them that the caucus room are too crowded."

We're watching conventional wisdom form in front of our eyes--by tomorrow morning, even politically apathetic people will know about the Obama surge.

7:45 p.m. CST: Everyone in Richardson is disbanding, and they're pretty much all going over to Obama.

The 'entrance polls' have it Obama, Clinton, Edwards--I could see that happening, if all the change people get caught up in the Barack wave.

7:50 p.m. CST: It seems the Edwards crowd is having problems counting their people... hmmm, if you can't get this right....

It's really amazing that this is how the caucuses are done. C-SPAN finally turns their cameras to the Obama group, it's huge. Not sure how they're going to count; apparently they're doing another count. It's like half the room is Obama... their new system is everyone's hand is up, when it gets to you you say whatever number vote you are, then point to the next....

7:58 p.m. CST: Final numbers from this precinct: 186 Obama, 116 Edwards, 74 Clinton. Wow. Now, let's see how long until the Times blog reports, they're watching the same precinct.

8:00 p.m. CST: Obama gets 3 delegates outof this precinct, Edwards 2, Clinton 1.

And that's pretty much it--exactly 1 hour long. Great job, Iowans! As we watch the Edwards group decide on their delegates--the first non-white person sighting of the night!

As I've written before, if Obama can win a state that's 91.5% white, he's in amazing shape.

C-SPAN tells us CNN and ABC News are projecting Huckabee to win on the GOP side, Romney in second. Weirdly, no word of this on their blog....

Those efficient Republicans--none of this realigning for them, everyone just shows up, casts a vote, and goes home.

Edwards still hasn't found a second delegate; ouch.

8:07 CST: CNN says on their blog Richardson's delegates are indeed moving, en masse, to Obama--which confirms leaks all day that there was an agreement between the two groups to that effect.

From the NYTimes blog: "Not even a third of the precincts are reporting yet on the Democratic side. But here’s some bad news for Mrs. Clinton. Polk County, which encompasses Des Moines, should be one of her strongest counties. But so far, the race looks neck and neck: Mr. Obama is ahead there, with 195 delegates, compared with 191 for Mr. Edwards and 188 for Mrs. Clinton."

ABC's blog hasn't updated for more than 15 minutes, wonder what's going on over there.

Really, if I ran a news organization, I'd just hire 1,781 interns to stand in each precinct and input the vote totals as they're announced to the crowd--they'd beat the official tally, which I'm sure doesn't get sent in immediately.

The Bulls, btw, are on top of Portland nearing halftime.

8:12 CST: Romney's conceded on FOX News, says the NYTimes blog.

Wow, what a nightmare scenario for the GOP--the winner in Iowa is the candidate with the least money and organization, but lots of passionate supporters. They're in danger of becoming Democrats!

8:16 CST: C-SPAN is still at the high school, they're now doing party business-type things. The room's emptied out, but there are still a surprisingly large number of people hanging around and even participating.

T-shirt of the night: I Caucus For Darfur.

Who's playing Edward?

As we await the start of caucusing in Iowa (in living color on C-SPAN!), an interesting metaphor from pollster John Zogby:

Perhaps the biggest problem that Clinton and her team never anticipated is that they, essentially, ended up running against both Jack Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy. Edwards (the Bobby) tapped into an anger that our polls measured in big numbers. His message is powerful for Democrats and I believe he will move on to New Hampshire. Obama has connected with young people and Iowans looking for hope and opportunity with an energetic message reminiscent of Jack Kennedy. Tomorrow this will still be a three-way race.

Coming home

I still believe what I wrote in August, that Barack Obama's going to win the Iowa Democratic caucus Thursday. And think the margin will be surprisingly large.

Especially given that Obama's supporters tend to be younger, and passionate--the anachronistic but thrilling caucuses are really about neighbors arguing with neighbors and trying to come to a consensus.

I think group dynamics will make it easier for a roomful of people to wind up taking a chance and going with hope, than playing it safe--especially with a candidate as charismatic and likeable as Obama.

That, plus the Des Moines Register's poll (the only whose track record gives it any credibilty), plus Obama's parallels with Kerry's surge last year, plus the prospect of record turnout, plus the influx of independents, plus a relatively mild weather forecast, plus Kucinich/Richardson/Biden telling or likely to tell their supporters to make Obama their 2nd choice all make me think the Senator-from-next-door will turn the Democratic race upside down.

Just read what the Register's respected political columnist David Yepsen has to say:

There is much knitting of the brow in the political community that's camped out in Iowa just now. And it's not all due to New Year's Day hangovers.

The latest Iowa Poll published by this newspaper shows Barack Obama with a handsome 7-point lead over Hillary Clinton among likely Democratic caucusgoers. However, other polls show Clinton only a point or two ahead.

The difference is due, in part, to the fact that 40 percent of the likely Democratic caucusgoers in the Iowa Poll say they are independent voters. Five percent say they're Republicans.


That's just too many independents and Republicans for some to visualize at a Democratic caucus. It's causing much harrumphing among the Democratic camps deflated by the numbers.

And who knows. Maybe they are correct. Maybe people are telling pollsters the acceptable thing, that, "Oh, yes, I'll be there," when, in fact, they'll be parked in front of the tube, watching football.

But maybe it isn't wrong. Maybe we're looking at a big Obama turnout in Iowa. Maybe we're looking at the beginning of an Obama sweep to the nomination and the presidency.

From the very beginning, Obamamania has generated huge crowds across the state. They are often full of faces not seen at political rallies.

For example, on Monday night at a New Year's Eve party in Ames, hundreds packed the Great Hall at Iowa State University and waited for more than an hour to hear Obama deliver his well-polished stump speech.

In that speech he does something interesting. He always asks for a show of hands of those who've never been to a caucus. (More than half the hands go up.) He always asks for a show of hands of those who are undecided. (Maybe a third of the hands are in the air.)

Now, I assume here that someone who would devote their New Year's Eve to attending a political speech might just be a little predisposed to go out a few nights later to caucus for the candidate who delivered it. Just a guess.

An Iowa win for Obama makes a victory in suddenly-tight New Hampshire likely, especially if Edwards finishes third in Iowa and his anti-Hillary votes jump his ship (the guy's lived in Iowa for 4 years, if he can't win there...) and flow to Obama.

Obama's already ahead in the South Carolina polls, and I don't think Clinton can survive losing the first three contests--what's her excuse going to be, people don't know me well enough?

Poor Hillary; it was going to take a perfect storm to deny her the Democratic nod-- looks like one's brewing.

Reuters photo of Obama by Jim Young