American Idol recovery poll:

Wow new poll. That was random. ck- I read your comment on the other poll and I'm glad I got you on the Hedley bandwagon I really like them. I am really interested about what Adam is going to do on his album and I really think that he should do something with Allison becuase they looked like they had so much fun doing their duet and I thought it was pretty good. About Susan Boyle I never really liked her, she seems to think too highly of herself now, and I can't believe their are rumors of her leaving the show. In regards to my whereabouts, I am up north, but not in Michigan. A bit more west.

This is not the kind of thing that turns my world inside out. Who wins and who loses on Idol is not the be-all, end-all of my existence. I can't get that caught up in the life and career of a person I will never meet or get to know personally. This has zero effect on my life. Sure, I enjoy the hoopla of the show while it runs its course each season... and I have strong opinions about the contestants at the time. But it pretty much ends there. I won't lose sleep over the end result. Criminy... who does???

HI JC : My modem died and I had to wait two days for my internet carrier to send me a replacement. Well this is an interesting poll! It looks like alot of people are still in shock over this! It isn't right what went down with AT&T but I am happy now that Adam didn't win. He is definitely in a better position to make his choices where he's at!

Hi Grimoire! I'm curious...........to everyone! Do you plan to watch American Idol next year? RICKEY..... I think this would be a great question to ask for your next poll!!! I'm wondering if they are losing alot of viewers after this voting fiasco!

JC - I agree with what you said about Susan Boyle. I understand that as a lady who has lived all her life in a village she probably is not used to stress. But still, she really just seems so full of herself now. And the most important thing is, I've never found her voice appealing... QS - Lol I would rather Rickey not to change the poll anymore... But I'm shocked that there are people who voted for "I stopped watching this show a long time ago." Why would they come over and vote then?

Yes I am still shocked and upset Kris Allen won American Idol. Adam Lambert IMO deserved to win. All these interviews and performances just solidified my position.

Adam is a star. He always looks great, sounds great and handles the media so well.

Kris is a humble, sweet unassuming guy who would have been better served to be the runner-up.

JC: I do like some of Green Day's stuff. Michigan was just a guess... your cousin lives in Canada, my cousin lives in Michigan, Michigan is close to Canada, I like my cousin, I like you.... see no logic at all! LOL

QuietStorm: Thank God it was only you're modem! I thought perhaps you took a little "road trip" to Arkansa to give those AT&T guys a piece of your mind! (just kidding... Glad you're back!) Regarding Idol next year... I think the producers will do their very best to bring back another "Adam" - won't be easy - and probably impossible - but I think they'll want some very talented, very creative, "not your typical middle of the road American AI" contestants in the Final 10. I also think that seriously talented performers (who might of found AI to be otherwise "hokey"), might see AI as a platform to showcase their talent - like Adam said he did. So it's either going to be a 3 Ring Circus - or perhaps an opportunity to hear some really great stuff! I never consistantly watched Idol before this season - I only stayed to see what Adam would do next!

Hi CK, That two days off the internet seemed like two weeks! I couldn't wait to catch up and see what the latest talk was about! As for American Idol, part of me doesn't want to watch next year, and part of me does because it wouldn't be right to hurt the new contestants who have their dreams and hopes riding on this show. It's not their fault that one of AI's biggest corporate sponsors decides to CHEAT and ruin the reputation of American Idol! I agree with Grimoire that AI should kick AT&T out! There are other phone companies!

CK AND NIE, I found it intriqueing when you started talking about ghosts! At the risk of people branding me a nutcase, I definitely believe and know they exist, as well as other paranormal unexplained events and activity caused by God only knows! I have had my own personal experiences and trusted friends and family members have told me some incredible experiences they've had! Ghosts have been documented and caught on tape! I am an avid watcher of Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures, and Paranormal State! Also, type in "ghost videos" on Google. Some of the clips are obvious trickery and hoaxes, but there are some clips that are definitely real! Watch the "ghost car caught on police video" and the "demon caught in the forest". Those two creep me out! But there are other clips even spookier than those! I would love to hear from anyone about their experiences or what they believe! And yes I know I am opening Pandora's box here, but I am hoping it will be worth it!!

CK - If I hadn't chatted with you before, I would definitely jump to the conclusion that you are an Adam fan just by reading your last post LOL!!! But you are so right! I have never followed Idol as closely as this season and I think it's because of Adam! But bringing back another Adam (if it is possible at all) wouldn't come as such a surprise anymore because we have already had one. Maybe an American Susan Boyle or a Paul Potts will do!

QS - I just googled and watched the ghost car but I can't find "demon caught in the forest"... Well the ghost car seems really spooky! I do believe that unexplainable and perhaps supernatural things do exist, e.g. the Bermuda Triangle, UFO. But as specific as ghost? I don't know. In fact my Mom has once told me that when she was a little girl she has seen a ghost-like figure once (dressed in orange...). And at one time when she was in the bathroom, one of her slippers moved without anyone touching it. My Mom isn't the kind who like making up stories so it has to be true if it is from her mouth. But personally I haven't seen one (and I have no wish to see one). I have heard people say that if you can see ghost, you can and if you can't, you can't. Can you share some of your experiences with us?

JC: Just saw the pilot of "Mental" - and it was pretty good. If you like Numb3rs, you might like it. "True Blood" recaps of Season 1 are starting - not my favorite, but somewhat intriquing....

Oh yes, my dear Nie - I do sound like a contradiction, don't I? LOL Kris week end, week out, took a song, changed it up to make it his own and brought a raw, untrained (I do hope he learns how to sing from his diaphram otherwise he'll crash on the tour), heartfelt performance each week. That was the "assignment" from AI - That was the same critique that the judges held against Lil (who I thought had a good voice). Adam - while muscially talented, creative and exciting each week - "performed" a different persona and style each week - so as talented as he is, I still don't know what Adam's style is.... that is why I am so curious as to what will be on his first CD. At the time when I made that comment about "performing" rock, I did not even know about Adam's strong theatrical background. Loving the theater as much as you, I think there is a difference between a stage performer and recording artist - You have to be bigger than life on the stage to reach the seats in the back - and I would love to see Adam on stage! I always thought Adam was talented - just not a rocker. And in the end, I am just as suprised as all of you, that Adam didn't win AI based on public opinion.

Ghost Stories... hmmm - well don't tell my kid, cause he's already scared from those shows, but I was petrified of my house most of my life as a child and adult. I would hear footsteps all the time even when no one was in the house but me. I once saw a glimpse of a white, child-sized blurr running past my room late one night while reading, actually got out of bed, chased it down hall thinking it was my brother - only to find nothing at the end of the hall. I think I saw a slight-built, white, shadowy figure walk down our staircase once. One night while rolling over in my sleep, my glass lamp had a flash of bright light travel from the base up the lamp to the bulb and popped the bulb. My lamp was off at the time! I never told anybody for fear they'd like I was nuts! There's more... we've got a ceiling fan in an upstair bathroom. It bangs sometimes when it's extremely windy outside. One winter night it started to bang up a storm. I woke up and thought I'd better close the door so it didn't wake up my Grandmother who was sleeping at the end of the hall. Half way down the hall, I remembered my Grandmother was in the hospital and went back to bed. Ten minutes later my Mom was crying out that the hospital just called saying Grandma had just pasted away at 2:00am. Yep... same time I got up to close the door. After my grandmother's death, my mother confided to me that my grandmother had told her she was convinced that a child had died in this house.... she had always heard those footsteps. Creepy???? Well, I still heard the steps and still never told anybody what I heard. When my dad became terminally ill, we decided to care for him at home... and he died here. While still grief stricken, it occurred to me that there might be more "footsteps" I'd be hearing around here....like my Dad's? But all the footsteps completely stopped after almost 30 yrs of hearing them! I think my Dad may have taken whomever was here and said... "come on, it's time to move on...."

CK - Yeah now that's the stuff a Kris fan should say!! Lol just kidding... we all know that we can have a favorite and still appreciate others' talent. Yes you're right that we don't know how Adam's CD will sound. In fact he says in almost every interview that he wants his CD to have a little bit of everything - Pop, Rock, Electronic, Funk - linked up by Adam Lambert! Actually if you look at his favorite singer list, none except Freddie Mercury is a Rock artist (if I remember correctly). MJ, Katy Perry, Christina Aguilera, Pink, Beyonce, Lady GaGa... all Pop artists. I think, again if I'm remembering things correctly, it was the judges who started it that he should make a rock album... So maybe it's safer to say he's a Pop artist? - Pop has a larger definition... Anyway we'll just have to wait and see. But at the meantime listen to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8sS2IQ9TdQ It's just so hilarious I can't stop listening to it!! And Greg Pritchard's semi-final performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwTSnOjyayM He said he wanted to prove to Simon that he was a dog that can bark as well as meow... And that Pier compared him to Freddie Mercury?!?!?! Come on....

Wow it's 3:23 a.m. over here!! Not a good time for ghost stories... But yes those are creepy! I just shared the ghost car video with a German friend and he got so excited by trying to find a hole in the fence... And wait a minute... Have I ever said "it's time to move on" before? Lol probably not the same wordings (I hope)... I'm going to think more about it tomorrow in broad daylight.

CK, WOW! Do you still live in the same house? I believe you 100%. I grew up in the country of Colorado eight miles from the nearest town. My bedroom was in the basement along with my sister and my brothers bedrooms, and the only bathroom was also downstairs. I hated that basement, and I don't like basements to this day! As a young child about the age of 4, I began hearing a voice calling out my name in a panicked whisper just as I would reach that stage between wake and sleep! At first I thought maybe one of my ornery siblings was trying to scare me, but as I listened I could tell by their breathing that they were asleep. I could never tell if the voice I heard was male or female because it was a whisper. It happened alot and scared me to death! The last time that happened to me I was 22 yrs. old and living in a studio apartment in Denver,CO. It always sounded like it manifested from a corner by the ceiling. After high school, I moved to FT. Collins, CO. and moved into an old boarding house with eight college girls and the 80 yr. old lady that owned the house. My bedroom again was in a basement. One day I was standing in front of my dresser mirror brushing my very long hair, when I heard footsteps go through my bedroom and into the next bedroom. I caught movement out of my right peripheral vision and turned in time to see the back heel of a foot rounding the corner of the room. At first I wasn't scared thinking it was a roommate. I called out my roommates name and got no response. I immediately checked every room and I was alone! The stairs creaked loudly and there was no way for someone to get up or down them without being heard. I flew up those stairs like greased lightning! And this is just the tip of the iceburg of experiences I've had!

QS: I read your post over and over.... I'm not sure I follow - Did that voice follow you from your childhood house to the studio when you were an adult? That's creepy - like "The Entity" that followed that lady from house to house! Yes, I ended up moving back at my Mom's house, but I'm not scared anymore and there are no footsteps either. Never had any weird experiences anywhere else I lived though - about 8 moves or so. Footsteps have stopped here - but I think I've had some friendly visits over the years.... Right after my Dad died, I was still crying a lot at times... My dad never hit any of us kids (mom was Quick Draw McGraw with the strap), but sometimes he'd give you a gentle tap on the back of head barely brushing your hair with his two fingers when he wanted us to cut it out. One night, I was sitting up in bed, in the dark, crying so uncontrollably, when outta nowhere I felt this sharp whack to the back of my head. I stopped crying immediately... I felt like Dad was saying "okay, enough's enough... just cut it out already". When my son was about 6 months - 1 year old, on several occassions I'd be changing him and he'd be staring directly at someone over my shoulder or the doorway, smiling and giggling. Feeling a presence and assuming it was my Mom, I'd turn around and nobody was ever there. This happened all the time for about 6 months or so... eventually, I looked at my baby and ask "Who do you see? Who's making you laugh? Is that Grandpa?" It was the room my dad died in (which is Craig's room... which I never told him about Dad dying in his room.... God he'd freak out) - not that I think he's haunting us - I think he just stopped by for a visit to check out my son. They say babies and young children can see angels and spirits... or something like that. My kid was born at 2:50 am and like clockwork that kid woke up every night around 3 am scared and would crawl into my bed until he was 8 or so!! I thought how wierd - my kid wakes up around the same time he was born every night. But recently from watching a ghost hunting stories... isn't "dead time" 3:00 am??? Was he seeing something or being bothered? I only heard a voice once... My brother lived in Maine, homesick for Jersey and died unexpectedly, alone - so naturally, we brought him home to Jersey for the burial. I was up - alone - very late one night cleaning for all the guests that we were expecting during and after the funeral. Around 3 am (dead time), while cleaning that infamous bathroom upstairs... I heard a small, soft voice call out "Mommy....." - I immediately assumed my son was in the hall - nope, not there, but sound asleep in his own bed downstairs. Am I crazy? I know what I heard. "Mommy...." - Hey that's what my brother always called my Mom - kinda like a joke, cause he was this big guy - no matter how old he was... not Mom, not Mother... but always, always "Mommy" or Rita (but that's another story). The next morning the funeral director called so say my brother's body had arrived in Jersey at the airport very late the night before. That was also the first time my kid ever slept throughout the entire night - he' sleeps through most nights (except when he raids the fridge) and has never woken up scared nor crawled into my bed again. Thank God - cause the thought of my kid getting older and still crawling into my bed was REALLY weirding me out! LOL - Every thing is quiet here these days.....

Nie: Are you under the covers??? Come out - I'm sure you must have some haunting stories with all of your travels....

Hi everybody! ck- I watched the pilot of Mental too and I actually srprisingly really liked it. It was so funny parts of it. I can't believe he broke into that guys house! Mmm great logic there...lol. And hey I do like some of greenday's stuff too. I swear, you are like my long lost twin. QS- oh wow yeah my internet was out for 2 weeks last year and all I could think about was my emails. Nie- yeah the first time I saw susan boyle I was impressed that she could actually sing becuase I thought she would be a trainwreck, but I never really liked her voice in particular, and I think that she has just become cocky.

SUSAN LOST!!!!! in yet another upset.... to a dance troupe! I didn't care one way or another - but I thought it might be nice for her to sing for the Queen. NIE: Is that really Adam on "Conviction"? That Greg Pritchard - I don't know what to make of it.... I saw his first video.... but this one is really weird - he's singing a duet with himself! And there wasn't much "barking" anyway! LOL.... My kid emailed me this several months ago - maybe your friend in Germany would like it since it's a German car ad with a ghost running alongside the car..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeNgGpLucgM .....you don't have a weak heart do you? If yes, do not watch it! Seriously, I almost fell to the floor in fright!!!

CK and NIE, That voice thing happened mostly at my childhood home when I was young and as I got older it began to be less often. It did follow me! That car commercial is extremely scary! The first time I saw it I had my headphones on and the sound way up! I just about pee'd on myself!

JC: Yeah - that doctor is the MacGyver of psychiatry! I enjoyed that they showed us what the patient was seeing - that was cool. Previews for next show look good - some lady believes she's pregnant but isn't - her stomach is huge and her water breaks - I guess some of these stories are based on some real cases. RE: Music - Who else do you like? Any other suggestions?.... QuietStorm: That voice following you is freaky - wouldn't that be a ghost attaching itself to you? Thank goodness it's gone.... Sorry about the car ghost... I hope Nie doesn't go into shock!

Hey everyone, what are your favorite movies? My top favorites are American Beauty, The Falcon And The Snowman, At Close Range, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Intersection, and Brokeback Mountain. [ In case you're wondering I'm straight!] , but I thought Brokeback was an extremely good movie and I've watched it at least half a dozen times! And I also really like the movie "Ghost"! For real! I just thought of two more "Gorillas In The Mist" and "Instinct".

Some favorites are: Beautiful Mind, Deliverance, A Clockwork Orange, Bram Stoker's Dracula (with Gary Oldman), City of Angels, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, The Good Son, Cat People, Anne of a Thousand Days, Ladyhawke, Far and Away, Gone With the Wind, Forest Gump, Rumble Fish, Dances With Wolves, Waterboy, Ghost Busters, Jurassic Park.....

QuietStorm: Some movies I thought stunk, but have become my personal "cult favorites" and I just gotta watch them when they're on: Mommy Dearest (can't get enough of Faye Dunnaway at the Pepsi board meeting saying "Don't F with me boys...", Eddie and the Cruisers, Groundhog's Day, June and Benny, Gilbert Grape (Leo D. was good in that). Somewhere in Time, Boogie Nights, Nate and Hayes (Tommy Lee Jones was actually HOT in this movie - if you can imagine that - as a long haired pirate in tight white britches), A Knight's Tale, LaBamba, Queen of the Damned, That Thing You Do and anything with Bruce Lee. LOL!!!

CK and QUIETSTORM - I watched that car ad WITH MY COFFEE IN HAND!! No luckily I didn't spill, but it is so funny!! It is horrible when it comes out but after that I couldn't stop laughing at myself... Well I really haven't encountered any haunting experience (touch wood) even in all those hotel rooms... Not even in Japan where almost every room has a ghost! I usually keep a lamp on at night (to see the ghost if it comes :S), maybe that scares them away? But um, a distant relative of mine died recently and my Mom told me she was just thinking of that relative (which is unusual) on that exact day. And then my grandma told us the last time she met that relative (not too long before his death) he suddenly held out his hand to shake hands with everyone in the room and said something like thanks for all that you have done for me. There was no way he could have predicted his death. He wasn't even ill at all at that time. The sixth sense maybe? That is the closest to a ghost story that I can tell :S Yes I've heard about the "dead hour" too - I was reading your ghost stories at "dead time" yesterday! In fact, I have heard from my Mom that when I was a baby I always got up around that time and just kept on crying and screaming too!! This seems an usual thing to do for babies. Oh if only I could remember what I have seen as a baby... then I might have lots of ghost stories to share with you. QS do you still hear that whisper? I think whispers are the creepiest among all... And about the footsteps, I've heard that when you hear those, don't look into a mirror. People say those are the footsteps of ghost police so basically you are safe when you hear it but if you look into a mirror you may see them. Sounds hilarious but why not just follow the "rule" lol. But for me when I hear footsteps late at night I would only think of complaining to the security guard. That family living in the apartment above is late night animals! Or maybe not...?

JC & CK - Yeah Susan Boyle lost!! That dancing group seems cool and wowing! And Simon pimped them too!! Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pg3fvanDDc&feature=rec-HM-fresh+div - He said it's important that people pick up the phone for them!! But I was hoping that this kid would win: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzdekFswDPg&feature=related - Star power! And his song choice reminds me of Normand Gentle... CK & QS - I love One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest!! But actually I haven't watched the movie... just the novel. Ken Kesey is the man! I'll look for the movie as soon as I have time. And if you have time, read Watchmen (the comic)! It's way better than the movie! And Brokeback is cool too! It's not easy to convey the message to a society where non-gay dominates and I think the director has done a good job. Dracula!! The novel is still resting on my bookshelf untouched. What a shame... Maybe I should read it this summer! CK - It is no one but ADAM on "My Conviction." You can recognize his voice easily in the first "convintion" and "affectation." And take a look at this - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJYyqzUr6jU - Guess who sings it? Yes, ADAM! And I think you have heard "Is Anybody Listening," right? In case you haven't - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvwcJUhIa0U&feature=related

QS, CK, NIE- I don't actually watch movies that often and I can't think of some that I like...hmm... I'll think about that. NIE, CK- I think that the dance group that won bgt deserved it, they were actually really good. The Shaheen kid is actually good too, same with that Aiden kid. CK- hmm, I also like queen and some of the songs by the plain white t's and I'll tell you if I think of some others. Hmm yeah the thing for the next episode...now THAT looked really weird that she actually got big, I wonder if it has ever actually happened in real life. I think I'm going to watch it.

NIE: ok... I use to be afraid of footsteps... now I'm afraid that no one's on ghost patrolling any longer keeping us safe!!! LOL My grandmother was raised in educated in a British colony with multi cultures in every community. Smart, intelligent, religious... yet she firmly believed that Voodoo and the evil eye exsisted - she claims to have seen a ball of fire come out of nowhere and roll down the street. Three bits of wisdom she left me... 1) "It's not the dead that you have to fear... it's the living." 2) If you dream of some who's died, you must never go anywhere with them in the dream. Tell them you know they're dead and you're not going. 3) If you lie down with dogs, you'll wake up with fleas!!!LOL Yeah - Adam was great in the Ten Commandments. What I don't understand is... how the heck did Val Kilmer get that lead???

Hi NIE and CK, Nie you made me laugh so hard when you said you keep a light on so you can see the ghost if it comes! LOL Actually I keep night lights on all over my house! I am a bit afraid of the dark! My parents didn't leave any lights on at night in our country home, so it would be scary dark in the basement! With the bathroom in the basement, I was too scared to go down there to use it if somebody didn't go with me. I would start down those stairs and my brother would call out "Don't Let The Boogie Man Get You"! I would fly back up those stairs crying! One time when I couldn't talk anyone in to going down there with me, I went into my parents bedroom on the main floor and pee'd in a waste basket then threw a bunch of Kleenex in it to soak it up! I was that scared of that dark basement!

I can't sleep if it's light (unless I'm really tired) so I have to have all the lights off and the door to my bedroom shut. Then I feel safe and I can sleep.

JC: Love "Hey There Delilah" and "Natural Disaster" - which kinda sorta has a Joe Jackson sound to it - who I sometimes like, depending on my mood. A good flick to rent on a rainy day is "The Mosquito Coast" with River Phoenix and Harrison Ford. It was trashed by critics, but I think you'd enjoy how Ford's character unravels and slowly goes mad in his search for the perfect utopia for his family. Sometimes slow, but interesting.

ck- that sounds like an interesting movie and I really like Harrisons Ford. Yeah those are the songs I like by them too. I was just listening to hedley now, did you listen to "old school"? I really enjoy that one.

CK and NIE, CK ....I think your grandmother may be wrong when she told you that the dead can't hurt you! Ghost Hunters caught on film a camera bag flying up in the face of a camera man, and it was caught on film from two angles! The camera man had both his hands up over his head holding a boom mike and this heavy camera bag strapped over his shoulder and hanging at his waist just flew up by itself and hit him in the face and knocked him to the ground! He was in shock with tears rolling down his face! On Ghost Adventures they caught on film a brick flying up from the floor and a board rising up and levitating at the same time the brick flew across the room! On one of the ghost video clips on Google a man went into the attic of a haunted house and a ghost tried to strangle him! He came down from the attic with wire wrapped around his neck in shock! Evil exists! We can see examples of that all around us! And when those kind of people die, they can and often do take that hostility with them to the otherside!

QS & CK - Lol the lamp's major job is to let me see the thief if (s)he comes, but I guess it does the same with ghosts too! The problem is that lamps are much brighter than night lights, but when you travel you get so tired that you can sleep even with a thousand fluorescent light bulbs above your head... And when I'm home the street lamps are so bright that I don't even need to leave any light on. I'm afraid of darkness only when I'm in an unfamiliar place. At home, I usually go to the bathroom at night without any light on. But as I said it's so bright here that I can see my way even without turning on any light. CK thanks for the bits of wisdom! "It's not the dead that you have to fear... it's the living." - So true!! My Grandma would never tell me any ghost stories although I'm sure she has experienced a lot. She doesn't want me to think too much about that and she thinks that as a Catholic I should not believe in such things. (She's not a Catholic or Christian but she just has this notion...) My parents do not deny the existence of ghost (my Mom has seen it) but they always tell me as long as I don't think of them, they don't exist. Lol maybe Val Kilmer got the lead role with help of some supernatural, paranormal force. Who knows?! I don't understand how Idina Menzel gets so successful too. I'm never a fan of her voice.

JC: OMGoodness that's my favorite one... I love the words... the dreams we'd conspire... down behind the old school. You know I always wanted to get outta my old hometown permanently, and I told Nie that I'm now comfortable here... maybe cause I meet old friends every day and we talk about all those good old teen, school days... I think we see each other the in "days we believed we could fly." My mom could only sleep in complete darkness with the door closed..... QuietStorm: Oh my... how terrible to be that scared. If I had been your sister, I would have walked you downstairs... though I'd be BEHIND you. LOL - I got a lot braver once I had my son. I couldn't be a big old scaredy cat infront of him. I've even squashed a bug or two in the house! LOL .... Nie: I use to stay up late every night reading in bed not only because I ejoyed it, but it was an excuse to keep the light on!! How do you travel with all those books? I've got hundreds and hundreds and can't part with them. I can't even imagine the size of your collection!..... Everyone: You know guys.... this is starting to sound more like a therapy session than and Idol blog... but I love it!

Jesus Christ....... If I can recommend the top 3 movies you've got to see before you die [again! LOL] it would be "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest", American Beauty, and Deliverance. They are just incredibly well made movies! I promise you a hot dog and popcorn you would not regret watching any of those!

QS - Yes the dead can hurt you too but more so the livings. For the deads, I think if you don't bother them they won't really hurt you (other than scaring you). Have you seen The Others? Probably they consider the filming crew as intruders. But for the livings, they take advantage of you even when you pose no threat... Lol it sounds cynical...

QuietStorm and Nie: Because of a shortage of bedrooms, for a short while my grandmother and I shared a room. I was about six and tossing and turning when she asked why I couldn't sleep. I whispered "ghosts" and that's why I think she answered me that way... but there is evil on both sides, living and dead. You know the real reason why I was tossing and turning? It was pitch black in the room and she had a habit of saying the rosary each night in bed... and there is NOTHING scarier than "green glow in the dark rosary beads" when you're six. I didn't want to hurt her feelings, so I said ghosts.... LOL

CK - LOL some tips - Never buy hardcover. Never buy special edition. Always get the Penguins or the cheapest edition with no design. Revisit your collection once in a while - for those you can't remember the plot and have no interest in reading again, throw them away; for those you remember the plot clearly and still love it but have no intention to re-read, lend them to your friends so you still possess them (or at least feel like you do) but they are out of your way; for those you have an urge to read again, keep them. Never buy any reference books which you can find online or in libraries. When you find something useful, scan them but never photocopy. LOL I hope these help. But actually my collection is really small when you compare it with some other people... They can have a library themselves.

ck- we have like exactly the same taste in music! That one has always been my favorite. And thats a funny story about your grandma LOL. QS- I'll watch those sometime if I ever need a movie thanks. NIE- I think this stopped sounding like an idol blog a while ago

NIE...... I am fascinated by your life! First of all, what time is it over there right now? How do the Chinese people really feel about Americans? Are you oriental yourself and what are your goals? Are you in school right now, and where are you headed next? I hope you don't mind all these questions!

AHAHAHA you would definitely have hurted her feelings if you said it was her rosary beads that scared you. It was supposed to keep you safe. For me it's another story: When I was little I used to stay in my Grandma's place because my parents needed to work and couldn't take care of me. I shared a room with my Grandma and she always listened to those late night phone-in program on radio where people called in to tell haunting encounter. She turned the radio soooo low so that I couldn't hear. But as a naughty child I always held my breathe to listen to it while pretending to be asleep :)

QS - Lol I don't mind the questions. I'm an orient (lol this word has a lot of connotations in literature point of view) but I don't exactly know how the Chinese feel about the Americans because people from Hong Kong are so different from the Chinese (as from the mainland China). Here we meet people from all over the world everyday so we don't really see any difference between the peoples. But I do think it's another story in the mainland China especially in smaller towns. HK was a British colony and I was raised in the British style of education (hence some of the British spelling, but I am taught to be conscious of what and where I'm writing and to adjust the spelling - e.g. my thesis was about an American playwright and my advisor - an American - asked me to change all my "neighbour's" to "neighbor's" and "honour's" to "honor's" etc). I've just finished my BA degree and will be heading to the UK for a MA degree soon. And it's 1:23 a.m. over here! My bed is looking so sweet...

QuiteStorm: Yes! I've seen that brick and board thrown across the room at the Edinburgh Vaults!! Do you think it's real... I'm not sure, but I'd never go in there! There's a another group of hunter's that have a priest "on call". Performing an exorcism requires a lot of evidence and special vatican permission, so I'm not buying that part of the show. Nie: While Catholics don't generally dwell on ghosts and evil spirits, I think the church has always acknowledged the exsistence of demons and pretty much has cornered the market on exorcism. I mean if you or a loved one was pocessed - no matter your faith - who you gonna call???? But like your Grandmother said - it is far better to let your thoughts be concerned elsewhere (lest you invite them in unintentionally.) But where's the expert on the subject??? JC, what are your thoughts?????

CK - "I mean if you or a loved one was pocessed - no matter your faith - who you gonna call????" Good question! Umm actually I don't know... Maybe I might consult the Yellow Page... Yes demons are acknowledged by the Church but you know, no disrespect to the religion, some churches use exorcism as a way to earn money. There is a TV program that cracks all these schemes over here. Funny how, as a Catholic, I believe in ghost even more than demons or possession... To me the biggest demon is within oneself - temptation, greed etc can make a demon out of a normal person... And I think if I know someone "possessed," I might call a psychiatrist to begin with. Only after it fails I might try other things.

I am loving all these childhood stories! LOL Come on JC, tell us some of yours! What traumatized you? LOL I can tell all of you another reason I hated that basement! "THE BEAST"! It was the HUGE furnace in the bathroom and I mean this thing was HUGE! IT ran on propane and made lots of popping and rumbling noises! I started to have nightmare dreams that a monster man lived inside that thing and was trying to get out to get me! I must have had at least a dozen nightmares about that! Now here is the strangest thing that happened! From my bed I could see into my sisters bedroom. On one of her walls there was a blocked off vent hole from that furnace covered by a tin plate cover. I could see that from my bed. I was in the middle of that now familiar nightmare and that monster man was again pounding hard on that plate cover trying to get out to get me! In this particular dream and moment this monster man finally broke through which he had never done in the other dreams! At that exact moment there was a loud KABOOM and the plate cover blew off from pressure build up behind the plate cover! Black ash and soot lay on the floor! I woke up screaming at the sound of the explosion because the monster man had just crawled out and was running towards me in the dream at that exact moment! To this day I find that most bizarre!!!!

CK......Actually the brick and board thing I saw on Ghost Adventures happened at an old hotel in a mining town in Nevada. If I remember correctly I think the name of the town is Gold City. The ghost hunter "Zac" and one other guy had themselves locked inside overnight to make sure no one else could get in. They were the only ones inside this huge abandoned hotel. When they came around the corner of this room they no sooner pointed the camera in the room than this brick took off by itself! They were so scared they jumped from the second story fire escape to get out because they didn't have a key to get out. The owner locked them in so he was the only one with a key. I totally believe that footage, plus they had it analyzed and confirmed by professionals to be authentic nontampered with film. Paranormal State is the show that sometimes deals with possession and exorcism. They aren't quite as scientific as Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures. I take that show with a grain of salt, but some of the stories on there are intriqueing!

ck- to be honest, I'm an athiest (don't hate me) and so I don't believe in ghosts demons or anything... QS- when you want to hear mine do you want real ones, or ones from jesus?

JESUS CHRIST............ Real stories of course! Didn't anything scare you as a kid? And just so you know, it doesn't bother me at all that you're atheist! At least you're not a fanatic bible thumper!

QS- I didn't think you guys would mind it's just that some poeple really don't like atheists. There was a poll one time I think where americans thought that atheists were the least trustworthy people (which is really not true). Personally, I think religion is completely irrelevant to a person and it shouldn't matter. And haha love that "fanatic bible thumper". Um... let me think. Well when I was a kid I was always afraid of spiders. Now, it seems a bit ridiculous to me, but one time I went to my best friend's house for a sleepover, and her brothers had 3 pet tarantulas. We were sleeping on the floor in her living room, and one of them got out, and I was asleep and I woke up and it was crawlingon me and I was sooooo freaked out. For the next few years I would always make up reasons not to go over to her house because I was so scared and I would always invite her to my house so I wouldn't have to go over there.

JC..... Great Story! I have always been freaked out by spiders! Thus another reason I have night lights everywhere! We had lots of crickets and spiders in that basement! And as a child I could sometimes feel something crawling on me! LOL The more I reflect on my own traumas as a kid the more I'm kind of proud of myself for not flipping out and ending up in a mental institution!

QS- I have always hated bugs in general so I have many bug incedent stories from my childhood. Haha I'm amazed I'M not in a mental institution! I hate bugs with lots of legs! Yuk ew ew ew I don't even like thinking about that... ewww.

JC & QS - I hate all kind of insects... especially those with hair! Btw Nadal lost on clay... This is a bigger upset than Adam not winning AI.... :(

HELLO, ALL!!!!!!!
In answer to your question QS, yes, I do plan to watch Idol next season... it is a wonderful January treat on telelvision, when not much else is on.

HI NIE! I'm happy to see you are still with us! I thought maybe your bed was calling your name! LOL Do you have any especially freaky and icky bugs over there? Here in New Mexico we have scorpions but I've only come across them maybe a dozen times in the 21 years that I've lived here, thank God! And of course we have tarantulas but I've never found one on my property, let alone thankfully none ever in my house. That would be freaky deaky! What shocked me the most when I moved here from Colorado are the 5 to 7 inch long HUGE centipedes! They are like rubber and you have to whack them a bunch to kill them! They are plentiful and every summer I probably find at least two or three in my house! Yes I freak and have even screamed! They are WICKED!!

Nie: Yellow Pages!!!! Good answer! Yes, the greatest demon is within one's self... totally. Thanks for the reality check - I appreciate the favour. LOL!!! QuietStorm: How happy I am for you to found that Paradise in NM - cause you deserve it after all that trama! Your right! It was Gold City. I'm not a Zac fan..... JC: How could I ever hate you???? I think you are one of the kindest, most fair minded, non-judgemental, considerate people I've ever met... well actually haven't met.... sorta of met... would like to meet (I think you know what I mean. LOL) I'm just happy that you hung around this blog and we got better aquainted... Besides, you haven't held it against me that I'm some kinda of crazy, old rocker lady, who doesn't like glow in the dark rosaries beads and voted for Kris! My kid also hates spiders! He'll watch terribly gruesome movies... but turns his head if a spider comes on TV. Go figure.

HI GRIMOIRE! I was hoping you would drop in for a visit! Have you read about our stories? We've been talking about ghosts and bugs! LOL What have you been doing?

Grim ~ I was just sitting here thinking about you and laughing my head off... No... not AT you... but at what you might be thinking about all the crazy posts we've all left while you were away... Seriously guys, imagine someone coming to this site - thinking it was actually an Idol poll - only to find the stuff we've just posted???? It's hysterical! Notsayn' has probably reported all of us along with our IP addresses, and I bet Rickey is reaching for the Yellow Pages at this very minute! LOL

QS- oh yuk! I hate centipedes, and the ones we have here are just one inch at most. We have alot of mosquitoes but there haven't been as many this year, usually I'm itching all summer from them! NIE- I hate hairy bugs too! The black catepillars that hang from trees are the worst! Yuk I hate them. In summer when they are all over the trees I always feel like I have bugs crawling all over me. CK- I dint' think anyone in particular would hate me, just some people do becuase of that so I was just taking precautions.

CK- yeah this relly doesn't seem like an Idol poll at all, have we even talked about idol once?? I think it was all movies, music taste, scary stories, bugs haha. Thats probably why people are not commenting here other than us because they wouldn't know what to say haha.

GRIMOIRE........I somehow KNOW you have some great childhood stories to tell! Did anything freaky or scary ever happen to you?

JC: Yep... understood. I don't think any of us remaining here said anything too personal on the first poll because of other peeps' reactions. Heck... I felt funny even saying I was from Jersey!!! That in itself conjures up some weirdness as to whom I might or might not be. lol WASPS!!!! I hate wasps. And since I was always up late, reading in bed, with my light on... guess where they came to gather... my room. I just couldn't sleep, couldn't squish them... so I got this great idea very late one night. I'd get the vaccum and suck the things up! Did I ever consider that the noise would wake up everyone in the house? Apparently not... until my mother came storming up those stairs like a green hornet herself! Yelling and screaming....What were you thinking??? Don't you know those things could build a nest inside my vaccum?? What would have happened to me when I changed the bag??? I'll tell you rant, rant, rant..... Oh yeah... that was a fun night. In case you haven't noticed yet, my wee little mom scared me more than God or religion!!! HAHA But I loved her a bunch!

ck- haha oh yeah I hate wasps too! There was one year a while back when there was a huge amount of wasps here and so we bought a wasp trap and we got a least 80 a day. Last year, we got about 80 every 2 weeks. It changes from year to year which bug is more abundant. Oh wow you seem like you were an interesting child... your poor mom haha just kidding.

Those big, hairy, "moustache", creepy, crawlers you find on the wall! Okay... new question - Name that one horribly, hokey song that you secretly turn the radio volume up while driving in the car.... here's mine - Dead or Alive - "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJv5qLsLYoo

ck- does it count if it's recent? Because then for me it would have to be the climb by Miley Cyrus. Guilty pleasure.

HELLO CK, QS, JC, GRIM - LOL yea look what we've turned this board into!! OH MY! Your insect stories are even more horrible than ghost stories... Luckily there aren't too many different kind of insects in here, but moths are really horrible!! I hate their wings... QS - Yeah I'm still here and it's 5:32 a.m. now!! I'm chatting with some overseas friends... basically I live by European timezone... Just shared the car ad with my German friend and he said it's not shown on TV! Too bad... OH MY! Your insect stories are even more horrible than ghost stories... Luckily there aren't too many different kind of insects in here, but moths are really horrible!! I hate their wings... CK - You can find all you need on the Yellow Pages!! And vacuum cleaner for wasps - you're more than just smart! I'm gonna do this next time and then throw the cleaner away!! HI RICKEY! Have you found me on Yellow Pages? You should probably try another Yellow Page because I'm not on the one you're holding... Gotta go to bed now LOL!!!

JC: Had to look that one up. But the lyrics are beautiful and a nice melody... so I don't see it as terrible... is hokey it because it's "Miley"? Have you checked mine out.... that's bad.

NIE- wow 530! you should get to sleep if you ever want to wake up tomorow.

CK- yeah I thought it was hokey just becuase it's miley. I checked out yours and omg they have a remake of that one out by flo rida right now! its called "right round". I dont' really like mile and i think she's really commencial, but I love that song!

Night Night, Nie.... don't let the bed bugs bite! You are going to be trash for class if you don't get some sleep!

.......Kris Allen!

Go away. What's over is over now deal with it!

This is coming from an adam fan

JC - LOL I woke up at around 2:30 p.m. today... I'll try not to do it again :D CK - I'm seriously thinking that there might be some bed bugs!! I feel kind of... itchy lately... or maybe it's the change of weather... LOL don't worry, no class today. Actually I have no class until October :) Lol someone made a desperate attempt to steer the wheel of this board back to AI...

NIE- 230 wow so is your internal clock going to be like this until october? Yeah I won't let any hater get past me... muah...jk

Nie: When you first said that you didn't live in the US, I would have guessed somewhere in the UK (second guess, maybe Germany) simply by the way you wrote - I thought you had a British education. A few posts back, I mentioned my grandmother and mom were from a British colony - educated and raised "British" - British Guiana (now Guyana). Orginally, my great grandparents immigrated there from Portugal. I asked my grandmother, if you were going to get on a boat and sail away for a better life, why would you ever go THERE?? She didn't know. My kid had "culture day" a few years back and after all these years, he discovered the answer through research. BG had long abolished slavery (before US) and needed a labor force. They turned to East India, China, The Caribbean and Portugal... and basically replaced slavery with indentured servants. Free passage with the promise of work in return for 5 years of labor. So they grew up in a very diversified mulit-cultural community without discrimination of race or religion - all as "Britishers" - a real meshing pot of food and culture! MONEY determined you position in life. Growing up yy grandmother would cook mostly "Guyanese" dishes which was a mixture of all the different cultures. White rice, escarole, okra, curried chicken, roti, and a drink made from red sorrel leave to name a few.... dishes I still cook at times. I don't know what an authentic Portuguese dish is!!!! My great-grandfather remarried a Chinese lady later in life and had two daughters - my Aunt May and Aunt Chu. Grandma made me write letters from the time I could hold a pencil to all of her family and friends in BG. What does a six year old write to someone they don't know.... When I was about 11yrs. my Aunt Chu came for a visit. She handed me this beautiful 24K chain with a intricate pendant, telling me that it hand been handed down for generations from mother to first daughter. Since she had no children she was leaving it to me and she enjoyed all my letters over the years! I have often wondered if it was from China, but think it is Guyanese - because gold was so inexpensive there that even the poor owned many pieces. Aunt Chu would also send me some beautiful kimono robes. Needless to say, the country received their independence from England decades after my family left - however, the new government was more oppressive and brutal, allowing no trade in or out of the country. And of course... Guayana's only known as that place where Jim Jones gave those 600 followers that Kool-Aid to drink - which I'm betting was really red sorrel.... So how does Hong Kong feel about it's independence?

JC: I woke up and found all the news stations talking about this... Did you watch the MTV awards??? Eminem mtv awards bruno: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwdgxjc5mmA

CK - Does my way of writing reveal so much lol? When I was at the airport in Amsterdam I was told by an American who happened to share a table with me in a cafe that I have American accent. I was so amazed because I've been educated in the British way. But then when I thought back it seems so natural - my advisor is an American and I've probably listened to millions of Josh Groban's interviews lol. Wow so your great grandparents are Portuguese? Macau (a place very close to Hong Kong) used to be a Portuguese colony and I love the Portuguese dishes over there. Hong Kong is not really independent but is under the Chinese government. Hong Kong under British was quite different from BG. My Mom told me discrimination was quite serious. There were signs on park gates saying "No Chinese and dogs" etc. But towards the end of the British reign they became more lenient and treated the Chinese more equally. So I have never experienced any major discrimination. And personally I'm very thankful to the British education. Since HK was returned to China, all the schools in HK are divided into EMI (Engish as the Medium of Instruction) and CMI (Chinese). I studied in an EMI school and almost all of my subjects were taught in English. But for the CMI schools students, they are taught in Chinese and they just can't speak English anymore... Now the government needs to change the education system again but they refuse to admit the failure of the previous one. And if you ask me what I think about Hong Kong returning to China, I would say I don't like it. (Of course I haven't experienced the harder time under the British reign, so maybe I'm biased.) We don't even get to vote for our own chief executive. We can vote for the legislative council, but the number of seats appointed are greater than the number voted so it doesn't make a difference. And most of the officials are appointed by the chief executive and they are pretty much useless. These are just the tip of the iceberg...

JC - LOL no I don't intend to let my internal clock be like this till October. I'm trying to look for a summer job and if I succeed in getting one, I'll have to sleep early :(

Guys... I don't know all the abrevs you use - like :( or :D

:( is two eyes and a mouth with the corners lowered. :D is two eyes with a big smile!

Nie England has been extremely cruel over the centuries to her colonies... But nothing beats their educational system! My mom lived in a house as a child with a dirt floor, but received a better education than most American H.S. graduates her age. Guanya today still has a 97% literacy rate - education being one of the few British influences left in the country. Most of our other family and friends left before the new government took over - most going to England or Canada. Remember when we were talking about church and money... Mom told me that her 2nd cousins who had $$$, paid for a front pew at church with their name in the front. She and her sisters had to stand in the far back! I know very little about my Portuguese heritage except my great-grandmother was an infant on the ship, and had bright red hair and green eyes.

Anybody watch Kris on AI Attraction at Disney? Rickey's got everything!!! I also like the VH1 and Idolatry stuff with Kris and Adam.

nie- well thats good for you I guess that you won't be doing that sleeping pattern. ck- no i didn't watch the awards and I havent' seen the disney things with the idols

Nie: The ONLY thing good about going to bed at 5.30 am, is that the sun will rise soon and you don't need to leave the light on while you sleep. Thanks for the info. :D ..... JC: I had "old schoo"l stuck in my head all days - even found myself singing it while at the grocery store. LOL Made the headlines that poor Susan Boyle was rushed to a clinic - I guess all of this noterity was too much for her. That Borac guy is a jerk! He's crazy for messing with Eminem.... QuietStorm: Where have you been? Battling scorpions in your backyard? - JC: Speaking of Scorpians, I like that group a lot!

Nie: So what is your main focus of literature? American Lit?

ck- yeah I have old school stuck in my head all the time too. I like scorpion too!!

Yeah, they're probably my most fav of those 80's big hair rock bands. Hey - have I told you lately.... there's no one like you, good buddy - chasing those trouble makers away! Hey, by the way - I was the "good" child and only about 12 when I vacuumed those wasps! Unless you want to count the time I made Easter eggs and hide them in the house! hehehe. One of my brothers use to put big rubber snakes in mom's bed and wait outside her door for her to scream.... but she never did! LOL The joke was on him!!

ck- haha you and your stories are so funny

CK - Yes literacy rate is the most important thing to a country. Here in HK we have 100% literacy rate but many students who are not lucky enough to get into an EMI school have serious problem using English. You know, what can one do without English in this world... I mean unless you can speak French and German and Spanish... then maybe you don't need English... I focus on the 20th Century Literature but have also taken a few American Literature courses. I just bought The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton to prepare for my next semester. LOL what did you do with the Easter eggs? Dig a hole in the backyard, put them in and hopefully grow an egg tree? Seriously when I was little I thought everything can be grown!

JC - LOL actually it isn't a bad idea for me to keep my internal clock running like this until October. I'll be in England by then and will fit perfectly in. CK - To tell you the truth, I STILL hide behind a closed door and wait for my Mom to come out and scare her! And she does the same to me too!! That's how we keep our hearts strong lol!

Nie: I read a review for The House of Mirth - sounds like a good book. Maybe later I'll go the library. The only books I've been reading lately are my son's required reading - I caught him once when he was very little "pretending" to be reading - he was just moving the bookmark about 20 pages each night! So now we have discussions about what he's reading. Actually, some of the books are VERY good!

One Easter, all 3 of us kids had mumps - really bad. Mom was exhausted taking care of us, and more or less cancelled coloring eggs. I was about 8 and thought "you can't cancel Easter eggs." So while everyone was napping (including mom), I got up - boiled eggs, loving colored one for each family member and hide them in the living room for a little egg hunt. I woke up my younger brothers, telling them to be very quiet (so not to wake mom) and before I could finishing explaining the rules to a 5yr. and 2 yr. old, my brother stepped backward, began SCREAMING and lifting his leg. I gasped when I saw raw egg dripping off toes! As Mom's door opened, we scattered... but I heard another scream... and another scream... Steve had found ALL the colored eggs with his little fat feet! All I got was my butt colored - bright pink! LOL - Nie, I only wish I could plant some money and it would grow.....

JC: Are we all on different time zones??? Rickey's time line is soooo messed up - I'm clueless as to when to find you guys on the blog. Nie: Your mother pops out to scare you??? Now that's funny!

ck- I'm on Central time

CK - My Mom used to read all my textbooks in order to question me on the content too... She stopped doing that when I was 15. I'm sure your son's books are more interesting than mine. LOL why would there be raw eggs dripping after you have boiled the eggs? Ummm my Mom didn't exactly pop out. Last time she was standing to the right of the door but I went away to the left before she could do anything... We have some tortoises at home and usually we turn off all the lights in the living room after 12 at night so that they can sleep. When we need to look for something in the living room we use torches (like thieves do...). That is when my Mom usually sneaks up behind me and taps on my shoulders suddenly. It scared me like hell the first time but the effect is fading. She should start thinking of something else lol.

Yeah... I've pretty much stopped reading his books - since I've already read most of them in high school. Last summer, he had to read "Lord of the Flies" one of my fav's when I was his age. Tortoises?? Are they big??? My brothers and all the kids in the neighborhood use to go down the the lake and bring back turtles every summer. Feed them, take care of them, have turtle races - then set them free. I think the little ones are illegal to sell in pet stores now... some kind of disease or something. I like the idea of walking around with torches after dark... that's kinda cool - unless the curtains catch on fire! Your mom sounds really cute... I lost mine a year ago today... so thanks guys, for listening to my "mom" stories, it sorta helps. As for the raw eggs, well remember when you were little and 1 minute seemed like an hour??? I must of removed them as soon as I saw that first bubble in the pot and thought "Good! They're done!"

JC: Do you have any special plans for the summer? I'm beginning to understand your musical interests - what else do you enjoy doing?

Can't the three of you just exchange e-mail addresses?

I'm still here, I just didn't have much time to be on my computer yesterday. I got on long enough to enter for the Green Home Giveaway on HGTV.com and to check out the Eminem clip from the MTV awards since they were talking all about that on tv. It appears now that was totally staged since Eminem was already wearing a mike! I personally like Eminem, especially after watching his movie "Eight Mile" which was partially a story about his life. It took alot for him to lift himself out of poverty, the odds were certainly against him, and he beat those odds!

Oh Ellery.... somehow that sounds just a little bit too logical, don't ya think? So who did you vote for Kris, Adam or Danny?

I don't know that much about Eminem - but when he first started he kinda scared me... then I saw an interview with him and he seemed like he really cared about his kid.

My eyes perked up when I read you were talking about books. I lovvvvvve books! I like self help, metaphysical, and true murder mysteries! I guess I have a little Sherlock Holmes living in me, I want to solve these mysteries, and I find it fascinating trying to figure out what makes some people do what they do.....MURDER!!! I read the book written by the lead detective on the Jon Benet Ramsey murder and he gave undeniable evidence that it was Patsy the mother that killed her own daughter!

I am in the extreme minority: I voted for Danny twice: during the top 6 and top 5--then switched to Adam. Nobody believes this! I like both Danny and Adam for different reasons. I did not like Danny's rock night performance which was his only weak one. I like Adam because he is origional. Hated Ring of Fire--that is when he lost me. But then he quickly redeemed himself during rock week. I heard he was gay. Do you think it is just a rumor because he is theatrical? I see him more as a Hollywood type, a metrosexual--but not gay. Maybe he is bisexual Doesn't really matter because he has a unique and pleasing voice. Danny and Adam were the top. Kris and Allison, to me, were so-so. I would have taken Allison over Kris frankly.

Thanks for asking ck. Can I have your e-mail now? JK!

QuietStorm.... Somehow I didn't think you'd be into murder mysteries. Mark Fuhrman - the detectiive accused of planting evidence against OJ. I heard his book was brilliant but I stopped reading about "real life" murders... My heart just cries everytime JonBenet is flashed on the news.... last I heard, the detectives seriously thought it was that "handyman" - the guy some physic told them about early on in the investigation. But I haven't heard anything further since last year. I read about the Gary Gilmore killings and Sharon Tate's murder - and that's clearly not the type of bedtime stories I should be reading at night. I love "made up" murder mysteries, romance and autobiographies (Jim Morrison was a real whack job). Epics or classics with great, almost boring detail. I read "David Copperfield" every 5 years or so just for "fun" - yeah I know I'm sick....

Ellery - you came back! I was hoping you would... you're pretty funny and made me laugh today - 2x's in fact with your little clever comments!! And you are NOT the minority here - Grimoire13 and TLC, both on hiatus at this time - are big Danny fans! I didn't think Danny should have been sent home for 1 bad note on rock week. Nie, JC and QS all wanted Adam. I'm the only one who voted for Kris - if you read through all the dribble here, there's some wordy explanation as to why... but yes, Adam is quite a brilliant performer - and sexuality should have nothing to do with talent... So do you have any good movies, ghost stories, books or tortoise stories you'd like to share???? Please stick around - we don't judge here!

JC: "Mental" tonite.

Ellery: You can even talk about Idol if you want....LOL - I'll give you mine, if you give me yours - first! :D

QuietStorm - so you're a fan of HGTV too? What other books do you like? Nie: What's up?

CK - Yes I heard that tortoises carry some kind of bacteria. You should definitely wash your hands thoroughly after handling them. That's why my Mom would never let my little cousin touch them. (In fact I doubt if he dares touch them at all.) But it's perfectly legal to buy and sell small or big tortoises over here. There is a whole street selling fish and reptiles like lizards, turtles, frogs and I think they have toads too... I'd never lay my hands on a lizard or a toad lol. My tortoises are not that big yet, but I'm happy with that because I have eight of them in my little apartment... Lol I guess I would prefer chocolate Easter eggs to raw dripping Easter eggs any day. I just watched the movie adaptation of The House of Mirth and it's such a moving story. That's not what I usually (allow myself to) do - watching the adaptation before reading the book. But I borrowed the DVD from the library and will have to return it soon - that's my excuse lol.

Btw CK - I use electric torch LOL!!! I don't want to set fire to my apartment.

Nie: YOU watched the movie?? LOL The book IS usually better. My son had to read "October Sky" last summer and thought "great, I already saw the movie". But his teacher added that they also had to watch the movie and compare the two explaining what/why details were left out of the movie. I thought that was very clever of the teacher! Will you miss HK and Mom when you go back to UK for school? I imagine you'll visit your friends in Germany. That's quite a hot spot for music, isn't it? Yes... chocolate eggs are much better!

Nie: Some of the Idolatry interviews are very good - if you haven't watched any yet.

Grim, Ellery - Dancing with the Stars for Danny????http://www.seattlepi.com/tvguide/406732_idolblog31.html

CK - I completely agree that usually the books are usually much better than the adaptation. I had a course that required me to compare books and movies too and I always forced myself to finish the book before the lecturer showed the movie in class. I don't want the visual images to ruin my imagination... The only movie that I like as much as the book is A Room With A View. Yes sure I'm going to miss my family. But I'm not so sure if I'd miss HK... I was in Norway for half a year and I didn't miss HK at all (except for the food perhaps). Ah I wish I will have time to visit my friends in Europe. Better still if they would come to me lol!! They don't stay in the capital of their countries and it is so difficult to get to the towns they live in... I watched Adam's Idolatry interview and it is really good. It was as if he finally got to say things that he couldn't have said during the competition.

HI NIE! I have a burning question for you I would really like to know! Do you see much animal abuse over there, and what kind of "live" animals or meat do they sell in the meat market? Do they eat dogs?! I once saw a show about mainland China and they showed a HUGE warehouse stacked practically to the ceiling with dog and cat hides they sell worldwide! They showed the brutal way they kill them! With cats they put a noose through the top of a crowded cage and when a cat 's head is just close enough, they yank the cat up to the top of the cage and leave it hanging and struggling there in front of the other cats until it dies, then repeat! With dogs they lift the hind leg and slice the artery right at the crease and then immediately start skinning them alive!! I was so horrified I wrote a letter to send to their leaders through PETA [People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals] asking them to stop this barbaric treatment and to be more merciful with any animal slaughtered for meat. The sad fact too is that cat and dog pelts don't even hold together very long like cow or deer hide. The hair starts falling out! What a cruel and horrible waste of the life of a loving animal!

HI CK! Dorothy Allison[now deceased] is the psychic you speak of that predicted it was a handyman that killed Jon Benet. I saw that interview with Dorothy on the now defunct Leeza Gibbons show. Up until the time I read the book by lead detective Steve Thomas [ JonBenet Inside the Ramsey Murder Investigation] I believed what Dorothy had said about the handyman! I have seen and read enough about psychics to know and believe that some people truly have that gift! Dorothy had solved a number of murders for police. Unfortunately even the best psychics sometimes misinterpret their visions or info that comes through to them. Lint fibers from Patsy's sweater were found on the inside part of the duct tape that was over JonBenet's mouth! That infamous note left behind.... what killer would feel comfortable enough to linger and write a rambling note with a dead child in the basement! Steve Thomas brought in a world known specialist who determined not only the writing matched Patsy but the phrasing and speech pattern of the note was exclusive to Patsy! The police actually protected the Ramseys because the D.A. was actually a business partner with John Ramsey! It was a very crooked and inept police dept. who bungled the case totally and in the end deliberately! It is a fascinating and exciting good read book! I highly recommend it!

QS: Oh... Steve Thomas (I was thinking it someone else). Did he say WHY Patsy did it? Was it an accident?

QS - Here in HK you normally find beef, pock and chicken in market, mutton in supermarket and sometimes ostrich and deer (very very rare) in restaurants. No dogs, cats or whales. But of course it's a totally different story in the mainland China. (HK and the mainland China are like two different worlds.) There is a saying that everything with the back to the sky can be eaten. Not only do they eat cats and dogs but basically all kinds of game meat. You know, about 5-6 years ago pneumonia influenza was very severe and it was caused by paguma larvata. I don't really know how they kill the cats and dogs but if they really do it the way you said, it's really horrible. But it's not impossible at all. My friend sent me a video a while back and it shows how Chinese people make soup with embryo or new born babies. Remember, we are talking about people dining on table with spoons and chopsticks but not some primitive cannibalistic tribes - which makes the matter even more dreadful. My friend said the video was probably made many years ago but I wouldn't be surprised if they still do the same. I'm not sure if it's illegal to eat cats and dogs nowadays but it's a big country and you'd never know what the people are doing. So it's basically impossible to control them. What a shame.

My dog, Poco, was a little Lhasa Apso. My other dog was a red doberman, Taj. Yes, I name all my pets after bands...LOL Guess who was the "boss"?

CK..........JIM MORRISON!!! I am absolutely fascinated about his life! I have read "No One Here Gets Out Alive" " Strange Days" written by the witch Patricia Kennealy that he married in a Wicca ceremony [but not legally] and another book "Wild Child" about a girl Jim called "Ginger" that basically shows she may actually have been the true love of his life instead of "Pam". Jim was highly intelligent and its a shame drugs and alcohol made him at times seem "whacked" out! Jim once lived here in Albuquerque and it was the backside of Sandia mountain where he came across the indians scattered along the roadside dead and dying! From reading these books I feel absolutely certain that Jim was murdered Deliberately by Pam! He was going to leave her and marry Linda[alias Ginger] and Pam wasn't about to let anyone else have him. She also knew Jim had her as the beneficiary of his will and she wasn't going to let that change! Contrary to popular reports, Jim did not die in the bathtub! He was put in there afterwards in ice water to help preserve him while Pam and her heroin friends cleaned up the murder scene and came up with a cover story! Fascinating books about a fantastic man who died under mysterious circumstances way too soon!

QS: I always doubted Pam's account... Unforunately, many brilliant musicians were lost to drugs...

Nie: What??? No summer classes? Or are you going to spend your time writing your novel?

CK - No summer classes. I'm looking for a summer job right now but you know it's kind of difficult to get a job in this situation. Lol no novel yet. Maybe short stories or prose. Because I don't have the patience to write a long novel...

CK.....JonBenet was not only a bed wetter at six years of age, but she would defecate as well! By that age that is a willful act and not accidental! That is a sign of a sexually abused child who does that to discourage her abuser! And the autopsy on her showed evidence in the vaginal area that "prolonged'' trauma over a period of time was evident! She was likely a sexually abused child and I am guessing either by John or Patsy! That Christmas eve Patsy and JonBenet got in a small fight with each other because Patsy wanted JonBenet to dress in an identical sweater like hers, JonBenet wanted to wear a different sweater and won the fight wearing a white sweater! I think what happened was that Patsy was totally stressed out from all the Xmas party and activity and later lost it when she discovered once again that JonBenet had soiled her bed. [ There was evidence someone had washed her bedsheets that night!] I am speculating that Patsy may have picked her up and thrown her [maybe head first] into the bathtub causing the fracture to the right side of her skull! Now she had to cover up child abuse and went into a panic! Evidence at autopsy shows JonBenet was still alive when she was strangled but probably would have died anyway from the blow to the head!

NIE.....Thanks for the info about Hong Kong and animal practices over there, that's a relief that they are more humane. I know that during the Olympic games in China a massive effort was made to hide any selling of cats and dogs in meat markets and therefore was prohibited at least during that time period. I can only hope that the Chinese people, who I actually like and admire for certain parts of their beliefs and culture, will someday become much more humane with the way they treat animals! CK and NIE.....Today is the day I get to go see VAST! I need to get off my computer and go take a shower, so I'll be off for awhile. If I have time before I need to go, I'll check back in with you, otherwise I'll be back with you tomorrow!

QS - Lol I'd bet they had more to hide than only the cats and dogs in the market during the Olympics. But I guess every country has a little bit of "clearance" to do before a big international event like that. Which part of their culture do you admire? I have had two public exams in HK and for them I had to study the Chinese beliefs and culture too. I got E for the first exam and D for the second LOL... *shakes head and sighs* Enjoy the concert!

ck,

Danny was my guy until rock week. I think his choice was bad and I realized that he didn't have much range other than ballards and some soul stuff (R and B). I think he really masacred that Aerosmith song. But, he has one of the 2 best voices this season. I would LOVE to hear Danny sing arcapella! I like R&B, but I also like rock, whih Danny cannot do well. I was always going between Danny and Adam and then started voting for Adam after the Led Zeppelin song which I LOVED! I was always hoping it would be Adam and Danny in the end as they are my two favorites. I think they were the best. I don't know about Kris. In the top 13 he was number 9 for me. Then in the top 10, I had him at number 8. I just don't think he has "it" and his voice is good, but not better than any other contestant in the top 13 except for Megan, Scott and Jasmine. I think Jesse and Felicia should have been included in the 13. Kris doesn't do anything for me.

I am now reading "The Female Brain" written by a neuropsychologist. It's cool.

I watch TV peridically. I love Idol but have given it up after this year. As I said, I am not a Kris fan. I started watching season 2. I think Clay Aiken should stop his "belly Aiken" about Adam. I really hate him now. What a jerk.

I watched "Lost" and "CSI" a few times but got bored. I prefer documentaries and reality shows.

I am resignated that Adam may be gay! I am not anti gay, just dissapointed. I had a delusional fantasy that Adam and I would someday get together, Lol! Maybe I can fantasize about Danny instead.

I iam originally from Singapore but live in the USA (Northeast) now. English is my 2nd language. Everyone from Singapore is bilingual (some trilingual).

How's that for an introduction ck?

QuietStorm: Enjoy VAST!!!

Ellery: Well that was quite an introduction! You told us more about yourself in 3 little posts than it has taken the rest of us to do on 3 different blogs! LOL! Glad you decided to stay! Hey, I thought John Lennon was going to leave his first wife for me, and then he found Yoko... oh well... I'm sure he would have left Yoko if he had ever met ME. Yeah, I liked Danny the best at first also. I like the Blues and R&B. I'm lost at "Lost". What kind of documentaries to you like? I like Discovery and History Channel. Anything about Mummies.....

QS: While I truly admire and enjoy reading your passionate posts - SO PLEASE DON'T STOP WRITING THEM - I think I'm going to puke right now! This is why I don't read real-life murder mysteries or watch those real detectives - the details are just too gruesome... I get sick just at the thought of eating a fish that I've personally caught while fishing... yet I'll go to the store and buy one for $17.00/lb. because I don't know that fish. But I seriously don't know WHAT I would do or eat if faced with the desperate situation that many people across the world must face for survival each and every day of their lives... I am disgusted by partial-birth abortion - NOT for religious reasons - but for reasons of "human decency". I am outraged that babies born alive in a bungled abortion, are left to die on a table along with toxic waste and trash. I am just as outraged when the doctors performing late term abortions are murdered like the one last week. When did "human life" become so insignificant?

JC: Are you still out there???? I missed you today!

ck- Hi I've been really busy lately and was Mental on last night? If it was I didn't watch it. Wow you guuys have managed to cover alot in 2 days. I really like those dicovery channel or history documentaries. I am actually quite interested in things like egypt and palientology and archeology. welcom to ellery. BTW you can call me JC for short if you ever refer to me, that or "o great holy one". It took me a while to get into CSI but now I'm hooked, I'm sad the season is over. and ellery, are there any things that people call you for short?

JC: I tape the stuff I want to view, then watch it when nothing else is on. I started to watch "The Link" on the history channel, but it'll have to wait until I have some time! Love all the Egyptian docs, The Barbarians, Alexander the Great... Did you watch "Walking With Dinosaurs?" Yeah, we've covered a lot of topics over the last 24 hrs!!!! Where do we all go when Rickey changes the blog again??????

ck- "walking with the dinosaurs" was a documentary? I didn't see that one, but I went with my cousin to see a show called "walking with the dinosaurs" in Canada it was like a 5 hour drive to get there from my cousin's house, but it was actually a really good show. It got amazing reviews.

ck- I vote that we go to a very unwatched uncommented on video on youtube. Like a song by Vast. haha.

ck- or we could all post comments in someone's account.

Nie: My son is driving me bonkers... a real case of "Spring Fever" and just can't get into school anymore. Which I understand cause he's worked hard this year... but he's ruining his grades at this point by just coasting! :( I can't imagine that you ever got a "D" in anything!!!! Good luck finding a job for the summer. Anything special you'd like to do? or - Will anything do at this point? Are you registered for all you classes in fall? That's one thing I always hated about school... scheduling those classes. What a mess it was at my college.

ck- when I was in highschool I was always an A student and then in college I got mostly Bs so I'm not sure what it's like to get Ds either.

Grim ~ I guess you were telling the truth on the last blog when you said you had a life! Where have you been? Off at Disney again?..... JC: if I remember correctly... "Dinosaurs" was in the theater, "Walking With Dinosaurs" was on Discovery quite a few years back.... it featured the life of one type of dino on a weekly basis.... Some of it is on DVD. I'm a novice at blogging.... "or we could all post comments in someone's account." What does that mean?

JC: Who the heck drives 5 hrs. for a movie???? LOL

JC: Tell me if this makes any sense to you. The teachers post homework online, my kid does the homework prior to the due date, and forgets to "turnitin" on the computer, or leaves the assignment in his locker!!! What was your major?

ck- It wasn't a movie. It was like a stadium show from England that was only showing in one city in Canada and it had life sized anamatronic dinosaurs and it was really cool. and what I meant before is that if you have a youtube account thenn you can post on your profile or other people's profiles so yeah.

Oh.... okay, I think a show like that also came to Jersey sometime last year. If it's the same one... I heard it was terrific! But I found out about it too late to go see it.

ck- yeah it was really amazing so if you ever get the chance to see it, its worth it and its not even that expensive.

JC: A friend from work had a part-time job working at the major NY/NJ stadiums, and she came in on a Monday talking about this great show she watched... The dinos - and I asked her how long it was going to be there - that's when she told me "yesterday was the last show". BOOHOO.... She said most of the adults enjoyed it more than the kids did!..... Nie: You should try and get a job at one of the many theaters or centres- this way you could "peek" at the shows!!!!

JC, Ellery is my American name so there is no official short or nick name version. At my job, some people call me Ellie for joking around. In college here in the states, I was called "L" even though my American name begins with an E. My major was Biology with concentration in Marine Biology (ck asked YOU so I thought I'D answer anyway!) I am not presenting a pretend name. I figure who will I know who looks here? The only ones that might be offended or embarrassed is my family and they live in Singapore, never heard of American Idol and they are afraid of technology. I'm safe.

Ellery - impressive.... are you working in your field, or continuing your studies? Hey... I'm still afraid ot technology, myself! LOL

L- (thats what i am going to call you for short) so then are you from singapore originally?

QS: Soooooo, how was the VAST concert??? Did you have a great time? Details please...

Nie: Do you finish every book you start? I make it a rule, no matter how difficult or horrible a book, I've got to finish it... Except, there was no way I could get through A Clockwork Orange - there was so much slang in it - and it had a dictionary in the back... I found myself looking up every other word. So I saw the movie instead! LOL Which horrified me for days due to the violence. I watched it again recently... and by today's standards it is "harmless" compared to the movies they make now. What are your plans which you finish your studies?

ck, I am not working directly in my field. Good luck to anyone finding work in marie biology First of all, I did not realize that it is nearly 100% research, which is dull and limiting. Very few marine bilologist do field work. I wanted to leave home but my parents wanted me to go to Univ of Singapore. I chose a field that I knew was not offered in Singapore just so I could come to the states. My parents wanted me to go into engineering like my brother, which is considered very presigeous in Singapore. They also wanted me to go to MIT, like my brother, if I came to the states. I did not want to go to MIT as my brother said it was very "throat cutting" and much too competitive and very high stress and demanding. I am applying to graduate School for 2010/11. Assuming positive acceptance, I will matriculate at Univ of Bejing, Tapai Univ or Stanford. Stanford is the long shot due to competitveness.

I prefer to not remain in the tiny, secluded Country of Singapore for work. Right now I work in a bio tech lab.

I am starting to not like that Adam is not getting exposure. Because he did not win, they are pushing Kris on the public and more people want Adam. My best and dearest friend who lives in Delhi tells me all of the girls, young and old, love Adam and their parents are angry.

Jesus Christ or JC,

I went to missionary School from 3 years old in Singapore so your name of Jesus Christ is funny to me! I grew up in Singapore but lived in London from 13-15 years of age. I expect to move back to Singapore when I am older and married. It is a very small, bustling country. Smaller than your state of Rhode Island I think. It is very wealthy and you do not see many poor people, just the maids and servants. Property values are so expensive that a 1500 square foot flat is the equivalent of 1.5 million Amerian dollars. That is an estimated value. I like a more economically diverse area like the USA. But Singapore has much more ethnic diversity than your country and all faiths and ethnicities are able to peacefully coexist.

Ellery: Interesting... but please - DO NOT tell me about all the little creepy things in my drinking water, ok? I'm not in my field anymore either.... Education and music. I think Adam is getting just as much exposure as Kris... they've both done interviews on just about everyone's talk show - often together. Have you seen all the stuff Rickey has/had on his home page? I like the Idolatry interviews with Adam and the VH1 where they both made fun of themselves.

The poll is gone from the front page. Anyone else? CK - I normally finish every book I start. Have you read The Historian? The beginning is sooooo confusing and boring but it gets so exciting as it goes on and I'm glad I insisted in finishing it. But I don't really force myself to finish a book if I don't feel like it. I remember there was a book that I dropped after maybe three chapters because I just couldn't take it anymore... The author used too many unnecessary swear words... Swear words are not a problem for me but when there is one in every sentence, it's too much. Lol a D in the public exams in HK is not like a D at college/university level. People generally consider C a good result and of course A is excellent. D is definitely not good but not too bad either... (Especially for me, I'm bad at anything concerning Chinese :S) Am listening to Imogen Heap at the moment! Do you like her? ELLERY - I passed by your country twice for transit!

Nie: Okay - now I have two books for summer reading. I've seen a lot of docs. on Vlad the Impaler - so this should be good reading. Thanks!!!! There is always an element of some truth (or history) to myths and legends, isn't there.... Yeah, I noticed Rickey dropped the poll... I saved the link directly to the poll.... and I still don't get what JC was explaining about someone's account... Sorry, JC - it's not you, it's me...

Imogen Heap??? I was totally clueless... I found her blogs first, she's funny - and I like a couple of the songs I listened to - she does that weird voice registry change thing (like Megan on AI & some C&W) singers can do, which I can't, but like. Interesting.

Okay guys - I'm going to share one my "Dumb Chris" stories about my registering for classes my last semester at school... I switched my major so it was going to be close for credits required in order to graduate in June. I kept going over and over what I needed, and considered taking "inter-session" - a 10 day course over Christmas break (every college calls it something different) just to cover myself. The only inter-session available of any interest was American Lit covering 150 short stories and 3 novels (one of them being Moby Dick). Did I really want to cram that much material into 10 days on my Christmas break?? About 8 of my friends and I were sitting at a table with our professor discussing our choices. I'm going over and over my stuff again and again for regular courses... inter-session... courses.... inter-session... courses... inter-session... The professor asked me if everything is alright..."you look confused." With all the debate of courses, inter-session, courses, inter-session, still swirling in my head, I replied..."I think I've got all my regular classes under control... I'm just not sure whether or not to schedule inter-COURSE over the holidays!" HAHAHAHA We laughed all the way to graduation!! - Yes, I chose "inter-course" - I mean inter-session... and managed to ace an A+.

Choosing inter-COURSE with your professor over christmas break surely will earn you an A+.

King H - you're back! Obviously, it was a mistake - a slip of the tongue - but it was very funny at the time..... I'm sure we've all said silly things... When asked what bunk on the tour bus, Adam said "I like it on top" - I don't think he realized what he said until it was already out of his mouth! LOL Where are you blogging these days?

L- oh so you just came to the US for school? thats cool. I have some friends that did that but then they stayed which was nice. My name is Jesus actually becuase it's my nick name. CK- oh it's ok if you don't understand what i meant, it's not important. Haha, intercourse, blond moment! NIE- the poll is on the front page, just at the very bottom. KH- youre back! my buddy! Where have you been?

Hello CK again. Actually, Adam knew what he was saying with that comment: "I prefer the top." Initially, I thought it was an innocent remark too but was corrected by a poster and I rewatched the video. He said it in a deadpan way and Kris made a face (he latched onto the double meaning). That's when they both cracked up and Adam corrected himself: "That was inappropriate." Kris did compliment him on the joke: "That was good." Adam has a wicked wit and is always playing with the media. I've been reading a lot of Kradam fan fiction online and some of it is very funny and bittersweet. It's likely Adam and Kris have read some of their fan fiction and probably laugh about it although Kris might be a tad embarrassed by some of the more salacious stories. I like the genuine friendship or "bromance" between the two although you might puke from the overall sweetness. I think Kris will thrive with a fusion of country, pop, folk and alternative acoustic music. His musical styling reminds me of Ronan Keating (the Irish balladeer and former Boyzone lead singer) and Damian Rice (the Irish alternative folk singer who produces stunning original arrangements). Damian Rice was most famous for his song "Blower's Daughter" in the film "Closer" (starring Julia Roberts). The song is poignant, accompanied by a beautiful cello with haunting backup vocals by Lisa Hannigan. I see Kris doing this kind of music as it's original, unusual, a little edgy and alternative and he plays many different instruments such as the piano, viola and guitar. You should watch Michael Slezak's interview with Kris. It's Kris' best interview yet and it reveals Kris as a passionate musician interested in lyrics, message and story telling. He focuses on the essence of a song and that's where his originality shines through. As you know, I didn't have a finale favourite but I like Kris more each time I listen to him. He is a talented musician with a generous spirit and personality. Adam is a stronger vocalist but I prefer his ballads and lower register to his high notes. IMO, "Track of My Tears" was his best song followed by "Mad World," "A Change Is Gonna Come" and "Black and White." I did not like his other songs as much especially that strange sitar version of "Ring of Fire."

karamea: Hi! Glad you're back! I LOVED the Idolatry interviews - I thought they were both Kris and Adam's best interviews out there. I've actually suggested more than once on this blog that people take a look at Slezak's interviews. I also enjoyed watching the bromance between these two guys - and admire the way both of them have handle themselves throughout the show and the controversy over the results. It was paticularily "cute" that Kris cracked up by Adam's remark - however, unlike you, I didn't realize "for sure" that Adam was playing with the media - which makes it all the cuter! Either way - I like both of these guys. I've never voted before Season 8 but I did vote for Kris - I didn't think his talent should go unnoticed and thought for the most part, the judges had written him off. Based on opinions on this blog and others, I thought it would have been Adam's win - so no one was more surprised than me (well, maybe Kris too - LOL) when Kris' name was called. No.... I don't puke at sweetness - only at the thought of someone - be it her mother, father, brother or handyman - killed that little beautiful baby, JonBenet Ramsey or Adam Walsh, or that millions of people don't have food, or the senseless crimes committed on a daily basis. THAT makes me puke - not bromance! Thanks for the Rice and Keating music tips - I liked them! Always looking for new music, so keep it coming!

JC - Thanks so much for helping me find the poll!! I'm glad I don't have to dig up my surfing history to find the link to this board everytime!! I thought Rickey couldn't stand our stories on ghosts, backyard and turtles so he closed the poll LOL. CK - An inter-COURSE!!! LOL!!! What was your professor's reaction? Ach... I agree with Karamera that Adam was fully aware of what he was saying. He looked so mischievous when he said that... And I've never loved Kris as much as when he reacted to Adam's reply! (Of course I like him when he sings too.) Yeah I love Imogen Heap's registry change too (though I didn't know it was called "registry change"). In fact I liked Megan quite a lot and was a bit mad at the judges for trashing her. Her voice and style are so distinctive! Alexis too! Yes definitely read The Historian when you have time. The Book Thief is another book I found confusing in the beginning but it ends up being one of my favorite books ever! Also, John Twelve Hawks's trilogy is wonderful from the beginning to the end. I'm still waiting for the last novel of the trilogy which is due to release in September.

Nie: I'll be quite busy all summer with my reading list!! Thanks for all the input. Yeah... I figured you liked that Kris cracked up - LOL. So you've travelled just about everywhere, haven't you. I think I had a Singapore Sling once..... Any luck with a summer job yet?

QuietStorm - YUCK! All day long, the news has reported a sad case if animal abuse... some teenage girl from the Bronx, roasted her ex-roommates kitten in an oven! I can't believe the perversion... because she hates cats! HOW WAS VAST???????

QS- hmm now the poll is at the top again. ck- that is so weird! I'm not a big fan of cats ( i actually have 3 dogs) but i would never do that! ew!

JC: THREE??? Are they little or big? Names please.... Say are you KH friends outside of the blog?

ck- I a lab, a medium sized lab poodle 50-50 cross and a medium sized mutt. The lab is named Nikki, the lab poodle (some people call them labradoodles i think that is funny) is jack (even though its a girl, her full name was jacqueline which is what she came with but my boyfriend and i changed it to jack becuase we liked it better) and the mutt is named oddie, which is what he was already named. No i'm not friends with KH outside the blog.

Hi CK, NIE, JC,......Sorry if I got too grose on murder descriptions! I guess I have a mind more like a coroner where the curiosity and fascination override the grose factor! It was a very strange evening when my only child [Jamie, 24 yrs old] and I went to the VAST concert. It started out great with a dinner at Red Lobster first! [ Those delightful commercials of lobster and succulent shrimp finally got to me and I needed a fix!] Then we headed to the LaunchPad venue. Two bands played before VAST. The first band called "THE Echoing Green" were really unique and awesome! You might find them on MySpace I'm not sure. Second band from LA called 'The Endless Hallway" was head banging hard rock [too hard for my taste]. Finally, VAST! It started out fantastic for the first two songs! Then the whole heartbeat of the band Jon Crosby left the stage and never returned. Word was announced that he was just too sick to return! BUMMER! I think their drummer was sick as well because he soon took an exit. The drummer from the second band took over and some other guy sang and played in Jon's place,but not VAST songs. They played a long time and tried to give us a good show but I found myself getting mildly depressed. Jon Crosby felt bad he couldn't perform so he gave out his newest cd to everyone for free! That was nice, but I still wish I could have heard him sing more. My son had scored us backstage passes so we could meet the band, but the band canceled meeting people since Jon was sick! Double Bummer! So I went home knowing they tried to do what they could for their fans which I admire them for, but still I just felt mildly depressed! I'm sure it will be at least another year before they come this way again, if not longer! CRIKEY!

Hi CK......Animals are my Achilles' heel! I love and respect their right to be here and live out their lives soooo much! I worked at one of the largest animal shelters in the country for four years. I cried many times at the cruelty dished on innocent animals. I will never understand why people get pets and then starve and beat them! Once we got in a standard size poodle that our vet determined had been sodomized![ Sorry if that groses you out ] It certainly did me! I will ALWAYS speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves! And the literally thousands of cats and dogs we have to destroy every year because of the ignorance and neglect of people to have their animals spayed and neutered is the biggest tragedy of all! By the way, I own 4 rescued dogs that would have been destroyed! 3 pitbulls named Bo, Baby, and Little Red. And one chocolate lab named Keira. They would lay down their lives for me and I for them! I love them soooo much!

QS: You were gone so long, I was beginning to think that you became a "band-aid" - and hit the road on the tour bus LOL .... Sorry the guys were sick. That stinks.... YOU didn't gross me out... it's the insane cruelity committed against children and animals that really upsets me. I don't avoid the news... but it's sooo hard to take. I just heard last night the 6'2" guy raped a 5yr. old in Oklahoma - the judge gave him ONE year in jail!!!! Hey, you've got quite a large family there... 3 pits, 1 lab and a son! Nice! We are long overdue for a pet. I was caring for my Mom the past several years - she was sooo fragile and I feared she'd trip - all our dogs would scurry around her feet! But I miss not having a pooch.:(

JC: I love the names of your pups! Labradoodles - they are cute! Do you ever watch the dog show? I'd love to get a mutt but I am soo allergic to the fur - I need a dog with hair, like a poodle or llahsa. I've been thinking about a bijon - they're cute and look like they're smiling... I dunno - a dog smiling all the time at me could creep me out after a while.... QuietStorm: My son came rushing out of his room last night - a little scared - he was watching a new ghost episode of that Zac - the big guy (Aaron??) got deep scratches from a ghost or something.Booooooo!

Hi CK.....I hope if you get a dog you will adopt from a shelter, they get purebreds in all the time. And dogs are so much happier when they have a fellow playmate, so you should get two! Watching mine play together gets hilarious! I cannot tell you how much those bright eyed and hopeful little faces haunt me when I go into any animal shelter. Their only hope are us! Otherwise they're destroyed! I really hope you will adopt! I always look forward walking in my door and seeing how happy they are to see me.....it makes you feel so loved and wanted! Changing subjects.... I think I know the Ghost Adventure episode you speak of.....that was a creepy one! There is a ghost hunter group here in Albuquerque and believe me there are plenty of creepy haunted places around here! We are rich in old history and ghost stories! I have contemplated joining the group, since paranormal is a new frontier and I'd really like to try and understand it and research it scientifically, but honestly I watch these shows and I know I am just too chicken!!!! I once worked with a girl whose 16 yr old daughter went with her friends to a reputed haunted abandoned house right here in the city. They only made it to the front porch and saw something so scary that it made two of the boys pee their pants and the daughter just starts crying and doesn't want to talk about it! It was evidently something they saw inside a window, but I don't know what! She won't talk, she just starts to cry! All I could find out is that it is near Moon St. here. I just wanted to drive by and see what kind of vibes I got from the house but couldn't get enough info to find it!

Hey everyone...I have another true creepy story for you! This happened to my ex-husband. When he was young and before I met him, he lived in an apartment that was part of a quadplex, and it was located along a street here called Carlisle. He and his roommate soon began to experience doors opening and slamming by themselves, lights suddenly turning on and off, cold unexplained breezes, and the faucet turning on by itself. He told me one day he and his roommate left for just a few minutes to make a run to the quick store. When they got back and unlocked their door and walked in, they discovered every picture had been turned face down on the dresser, and a huge heavy bottle of coins had been emptied onto the bed, but nothing missing! After we met and he told me the story, I asked him to show me where this was, so he drove and stopped in front of the now abandoned apartments. I decided I wanted to get out of the car and just take a peek inside the front window. I couldn't talk him into going with me so I got out and started walking towards the window and this was in the daytime. I would have been too chicken to do it at night! The closer I got the more my heart started thumping against my chest. I got about 8 to 10 feet away and as I kept staring at that black curtainless window, my inner voice started screaming at me saying "Don't Do IT!" I turned tail and ran back to the car! I just got the creepy feeling I was being watched! Sometime after that the building was torn down, so now I wonder if anything still happens on that property, I have no idea!!! TRUE STORY!

Hi CK, QS - About animals, there was a tragedy here recently too. Someone reported to the relevant governmental department that her dog was missing and it was later found by the dept. But they didn't call the owner up and naturally the owner couldn't have known that the dog was found. After a few days the dept thought the dog was abandoned or had no owner at all so they destroyed it... It wasn't the first time that dept make mistakes. They were cleaning an artificial lake the other time and drained the water in it. But they didn't bother to put water back in and hundred of turtles that lived in that lake were dried and killed. CK - Lol I haven't officially travelled to Singapore yet though I would love to... I did think about staying a few days there but summer in Singapore is just soooo hot. No news for summer job yet. But the application deadline isn't due yet so I think they haven't really contacted the applicants. I'm having a dilemma - If I get a summer job I can have some working experience, but then I'd lose all my time for reading... So I don't really know if I want it or not haha.

QuietStorm: This is the first time I can remember not having dog. But I will most certainly get one from a shelter. What amazes me is that they can tell time!! At 6.50 pm, my llasha apso would go and sit at the door and wait for my ex to come home every night. He'd usually arrive around 7 pm. They just fascinate me! Very nice that you and your son went to the concert together. Two summers ago, I brought Craig to Bethel, NY for the "Summer of Love" hippy fest. He had a ball and enjoyed all the music - it was all day and late into the night! I think he has an "old" soul. LOL

Nie: How much reading DO you have???? How long are the working shifts in HK????

Nie: Sorry to hear about that dog and those poor little turtles. In CA they have shut off a main water supply to the farmers - the land is dried up - so there will be no crops this summer - it affects about 2/3 of farm land in CA and about 30,000 lost jobs. They turned off the water supply because silver minnows have been getting caught in the pumps and are now endangered and valuable to the eco system. I'm no expert - but can't someone come with a solution? Ellery - any way to save the minnows and still get the water back on to the farmers?????

ck- thanks. I love my dogs to death. I have always grown up with dogs, so it's hard to imagine life without them. When i was really young i had two yorkies named peaches and cream.

JC: Yep, I miss not having a dog. Once school is over, I'm going to take my son to the shelter and let him pick ONE out... to start. I think Green Day must be touring this area soon - they'll be on SNL this Saturday. I found a good alternative music station in my area - it's all new to me and so I haven't gotten bored yet since it all sounds so fresh - though they haven't played any Hedley or The Church yet..... NIE: Do you get out and enjoy the night life on your break??? I'm going to read The Historian first - I'll go to the library today or tomorrow.... QS: Yes... you should join one of those ghost hunter shows... then I would watch for sure... LOL!!!

I held my breath watching Kris sing the National Anthem.... but I guess one thing good about "No Boundaries".... it was good practice for those super high notes. He did a good job. Did anyone see Adam won Young Hollywood Artist of the Year?

Adam and Susan Boyle video http://extratv.warnerbros.com/videos/channels/?channel=79356

QuietStorm, Ellery and Grimoire13 - everyone's on the newest poll. Please come play!!!!

Ellery: we're at http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/1705350/