Vox’s posts tagged american idol

What happened, America?

nobody@vox.com(Mellowyel) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 03:09:39 +0000

HOW COULD YOU VOTE OFF WILL???? How could you eliminate the BEST dancer that has ever come to So You Think You Dance? The only explanation is that someone read the list backwards and put Will and Twitch in the bottom two instead of Mark and Joshua. The ONLY videos on Youtube right now from last night are Will and Twitch's partner dances, Will's solo, and Mark's solo. DOESN'T THAT TELL YOU SOMETHING???

Anyway, it's not that surprising. This is the same audience that kicked Jennifer Hudson and and Chris Daughtry from American Idol, and kept Sanjaya way longer than they needed too. People on the Fox forums have their own opinions about the audience that voted Will off, but I think one of the judges said it best that people thought Will was so great that he didn't need their votes. That's the other explanation. It makes sense, but I prefer mine.

Oh well. I guess it's America's Best Dance Crew now. Oh wait, they voted off Kaba Modern and kept Status Quo last season, and didn't even take the great dance crew/theatre company from Chicago past the live auditions this season.

Reality TV sucks.

Anyway, check out this video of Kaba Modern at the Hip Hop Internationals last year. They came second, by the way. Daughtry, who got voted of AI, has sold more albums than every American Idol winner apart from Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Clay Aiken. Note, that Daugthry has released only one album, the others at least two. Jennifer Husdon won the Oscar, not Beyonce. Wake up, people, and open your eyes to the REAL talent.

Kaba Modern at Hip Hop Internationals 2007: World Finals

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Gypsy Junk Bead and Glass Slide Necklaces

nobody@vox.com(Red Rock Rose) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:06:44 +0000

Red Rock Rose Gypsy Junk Bead Necklace

Visit with us and take a look at our new gypsy bead necklaces ($25 each) at the Lavender in the Village Festival, Albuquerque, NM, July 12th and 13th. Check out their website for specifics, www.LavenderintheVillage.com

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Evil Corporations, Reality TV and Unmitigated Plagiarism: The 21st Century Trifecta

nobody@vox.com(Kirk) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:04:26 +0000

Have you heard? Devo is suing McDonald’s over an American Idol themed Happy Meal toy unimaginatively named “New Wave Nigel”.

And, boy, I hope Ronald is subjected to a legal corn-holing that turns his red wig pale.

Just look at this toy. It’s a plagiaristic travesty. The figure sports an orange jumpsuit and Devo’s trademark "energy dome" hat which, in my opinion, is enough to damn McDonald’s as full-on rip-off artists.

New Wave Nigel

But the clincher is the unquestionably Devo-esque music the toy plays when its arm is moved. (Hit play on the video at right to hear just how blatantly McDonald’s has mimicked Devo's sound.)

Sounds Like Devo

Big companies like McDonald’s pull this sort of shit all the time. They think that because they have bottomless pockets, they can just step all over other peoples’ copyrights. Of course, let me post an illustration of Grimace shoving his bloated, purple dick in Ronald McDonald’s ear and see how fast I receive a cease and desist letter.

What I love most about the story is Devo bassist Gerald Casale’s statement about the level to which the band is insulted:

"This New Wave Nigel doll that they've created is just a complete Devo rip-off and the red hat is exactly the red hat that I designed... Plus, we don't like McDonald's, and we don't like 'American Idol', so we're doubly offended."

Awesome. I didn’t think it was possible, but I actually like Devo even more now.

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Looking Back

nobody@vox.com(Mark) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 03:06:04 +0000

Read Galatians 1:11-24

Can you look back at a point in your life and see a marked change from who you once were? Or, does your life still reflect much of the same things you did several years ago? Maybe you still use foul language or you’re still doing those things you knew you needed to stop doing years ago! Imagine for a moment what would have happened had the apostle Paul not been radically changed the day he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, Imagine he just became a believer but never really went anywhere once he believed. He likely would have returned home and went to bed, woke up the next day made a few tents and repeated the same thing over and over, day after day, month after month and year after year, maybe popping into the house church on Sunday mornings to shake a few hands and hear the elder say a few words of exhortation. Then, it’s off to the sizzler for lunch and beer and football after dinner. Sounds ridiculous doesn’t it? The Apostle Paul do that! Are you kidding! Why, he’s the guy that started many churches, ordaining elders and yielding himself to God for the writing of all those wonderful spirit filled books of the bible as he went along…. Why, He’s the guy who sustained tremendous persecution just for speaking the name of Jesus Christ.

So my next question is this: if it isn’t ok for the apostle Paul to go home and become a Christian vegetable then why is it ok for us? Paul knew where he came from, he was zealous in the persecution of the church and in his own words he admits he tried to destroy it. After his encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ however, his life was no longer the same, even being able to look back and see the hand of the Lord separating him before he was even born. Friends, our lives should reflect some sort of a radical change for the Lord over time, no! It usually doesn’t happen over night and not everyone will become a Paul or for that matter no one will become a clone of another. God has His own set plan and purposes for each of our lives but he’s not going to force it upon us. God didn’t force Jesus to go to the cross but rather Jesus obeyed the will of the Father and likewise it is a choice for each of us to pick up our cross and follow after Him.

In verse 11 Paul tells the Galatians that the gospel which he preaches is not some made up fairy tail or good story to live by, the gospel isn’t even some attempt by man to reach up to heaven and connect with God, rather, the gospel is the account of our great God bowing down to connect with man and save us from our own depravity and the message which Paul preached was not his own but rather given to him by divine revelation. I love the way this chapter ends with the Christians in Judea praising God as the author and source of what they heard in Paul. At first glance you might think they were praising God because this terrible persecutor of the Christians is now off the streets. But, I believe it is something greater than that, I think they praised God because they knew what a terrible reputation Saul of Tarsus had and for this man to become a Christian could only come from an act of God. So again I end asking the same question I started with, can you look back at a point in your life and see a marked change from who you once were? Can others?

Grace and peace in Christ Jesus,
Mark

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DGW Episode 598

nobody@vox.com(InsideDGW) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 08:56:59 +0000

UroClub

Handheld Portapotty

Link: UroClub

UroClub

The UroClub gives true meaning to the word "portapotty". Made to resemble a golf club in appearance, it is a hollow tube which has a cap which unscrews, to help a male golfer who can't find a restroom nearby to answer the call of nature. It comes with a "privacy shield", which Dick calls the "privacy apron". It's essentially a towel which clips on to the UroClub, and has 2 extra clips for hooking itself to your pants' loops or belt.

UroClub How To

It has the size of a 7 iron, and the capacity of over half a litre, twice the "common volume".

Todcast
A new name for TWiTLive - Todcast - for TWiT On Demand.

Tetraphobia
Evan Pedersen of Fancy Pants Gangsters has an explanation for tetraphobia (Episode 590). In Japanese, the word for 4 is "shi", which is similar in sound to the Japanese word for death. The Japanese will sometimes say "yan" for the number 4 instead. Similar situations in Chinese and Korean.

Listen to Episode 598
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page

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DGW Episode 597

nobody@vox.com(InsideDGW) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 08:49:26 +0000

Plantronics Discovery 925

Bluetooth Headset

Link: Plantronics

Turn-The-Tables-Tuesday

Plantronics Discovery 925

With effect from 1 July 2008, California and Washington will be among the many states which prohibit using your cellphone with your hands while driving. One could of course still use a wired hands-free, but the Plantronics Discovery 925 will come in handy. Super light-weight, it weighs in at 0.3 ounces only. It comes in a carrying case, with a built-in rechargeable battery which recharges the device when you slot it into the case.

The package also comes with a USB charger and an AC charger, which you can connect to either the charging jack on the earpiece itself to recharge the device directly, or connect to the charging case to recharge the case. 3 earclips come as part of the packaged contents.

Plantronics' AudioIQ gives you noise cancellation, its multipoint technology allows you to pair up with up to 2 devices at the same time, and a single charge gives you 5 hours of talk time. Leo thinks this is better than the Aliph Jawbone or the BlueAnt Supertooth Light (Episode 362) and feels very comfortable. A worthy replacement of the Voyager 510 (Episode 252, which Leo lost while kayaking) or the Discovery 655 (Episode 173).

An Epitaph for Leo
Martin O' Connor from Galway, Ireland, who registered the url www.gadgetising.com (which has now lapsed) for Dick in Epsiode 148, suggests the following epitaph for Leo's tombstone, which Dick and Leo discussed in Episode 589 (while talking about the name for Leo's autobiography): "Another TWiT, is in the can."

TWiTLive.com
Leo uses the URL twitlive.tv for TWiTLive. A listener has registered twitlive.com and he is transferring the registration to Leo, which will take a little time to come through.

Thursday Theme?
Mike Wills of Podcastmike.com has done a Thursday theme for no-theme Thursday. Maybe not, says Leo Cowell.

Listen to Episode 597
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page

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Cowgirl on Tour!

nobody@vox.com(Red Rock Rose) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 21:30:13 +0000

Red Rock Rose on Tour

Visit us July 12th & 13th in Albuquerque, at the Los Ranchos Lavender Festival! Check out www.lavenderinthevillage.com for specifics!

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