American Idol 9 recaps for the week

Things are a bit hectic, so totally forgot to post my recap of this week's "American Idol." You can, as always, read my recaps at Project Q Atlanta. The recap of the Top 10 performing soul/R&B songs with Usher as mentor is here and tonight's elimination recap is here.

If you want a good laugh, check out the website Lesbians Who Look Like Justin Bieber.

Weekend in Washington D.C.

Reading from Conquering Venus at The Writer's Center in Bethesda this afternoon.

Poet Susan Tichy reads from her work at The Writer's Center.

Future bestselling author Gideon read, too. :-)

A greet weekend in D.C. and Bethesda this weekend. Many thanks to Charles Jensen at The Writer's Center for the gig, Reb Livingston for keeping me laughing and Dan Vera for showing me around on Saturday. The cherry trees are in bloom!

Idol elimination, Venus reading, Poetry update

Paige Miles was sent packing on American Idol last night after her disastrous performance of "Against All Odds" on Tuesday night. This ouster was no big surprise. You can read the full recap of the elimination show at Project Q Atlanta.

On Sunday, I'll be reading at The Writer's Center in Bethesda, MD with poet Susan Tichy as part of the Open Door Reading Series. I'll be reading from Conquering Venus and books will be for sale. If you're in the general vicinity, come down and say hello.

The video literary magazine Shape of Box is in a state of flux and has gone on "hiatus." I withdrew the poems and video I created for them and you will see it posted here April 1 and on the Bound to Be Read Books website as part of their celebration of National Poetry Month. Links soon.

Also, if you're in Atlanta on April 1, Poetry Atlanta and Georgia Center for the Book will be kicking off National Poetry Month with January Gill O'Neil (reading from her newly published collection, Underlife) and James May (poet and editor of New South literary magazine). Details at the Poetry Atlanta site.

American Idol 9 - Top 11 Perform

Miley Cyrus as a mentor? Really, “American Idol”? Unless she’s mentoring in auto-tune, dancing on stripper poles, sexting and posing for disturbing photographs with her daddy, Miley has no business telling anyone how to do anything – especially singing.

According to Internet rumors, Tuesday’s theme was supposed to be “Teen Idols,” which would sort of explain Miley, but at some point over the weekend the theme was switched to Billboard’s Number One Hits. Miley is simply a ratings ploy to get more tweens and teens to watch the show.

After some gay panic banter between Miss Seacrest and Simon about the latter’s v-neck sweater blouse, it was on with the show. And what a mostly terrible show it was.

Lee DeWyze: Miley said he had no stage presence, so he came out looking vaguely like Michael Bublé and backed by a horn section on “The Letter” by The Boxtops. It was definitely his most energetic performance to date, but the vocal was only so-so. He has a raspy voice – whoop-de-fucking-doo. Every song sounds the same.

Paige Miles: Miley calling anyone pitchy is ridiculous, but she was right. Paige’s live performance of Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds” was nightmarishly out of tune. I don’t think she hit a single note. The judges savaged her, with Kara calling it the worst performance of the season. Unless she gets massive sympathy votes, she’s outta there.

Read the rest of the recap at Project Q Atlanta now!

Examining Place

Many thanks to novelist Chelle Cordero for hosting my essay Examining Place: The Paris of Conquering Venus at her blog! Paris is an integral part of the novel -- and the two to follow -- so I consider it one of the main characters.

Friday Report, Weekend Music

I've been busy at work and my car is back and the shop, so a bit overwhelmed. I just realized I forgot to post the link to the elimination episode of "American Idol" on Wednesday night. Lacey, not surprisingly, went home. You can read the full recap at Project Q Atlanta.

Sadly, Conquering Venus was not selected as one of the finalists for the Lambda Literary Awards. On the upside, Venus is officially a nominee for the Georgia Author of the Year Award for First Novel and those awards will be handed out in June. Fingers crossed.

My next reading is a big one: The Writer's Center in Bethesda, MD. I'll be reading along with poet Susan Tichy on Sunday, March 28, at 2 p.m. If you're in the D.C. area, I hope you'll come out and say hello.

And for my weekend music selection (that's the video above) -- the brilliant Swedish band Miike Snow and their song "Silvia." Their debut album is one of the best things I've heard so far this year.

American Idol 9 - Top 12 Perform the Rolling Stones

The “American Idol” Top 12 sang the songs of the Rolling Stones Tuesday, and for the most part, it didn’t suck nearly as bad as I thought it would.

I guess licensing the songbook keeps Mick, Keith and the boys in adult diapers, Werthers candies, Bengay cream and future hip replacements. I digress.

The whole bit with the judges walking out on stage and Miss Seacrest coming down the stairs like Norma Desmond (“I’m ready for my close up, Mr. Cowell”) is just ridiculous.

I guess they had to pad out the two hours somehow. They also moved to a bigger studio set, which looked like some left over effects from “Tron.” I digress again.

Michael Lynche: He once again set the bar high for the boys with a funky, R&B version of “Miss You.” A couple of bum notes at the end, but this almost sounded ready for radio. Simon thought it was desperate and corny, Miss Seacrest challenged him, and Simon said they could sort it out in his trailer later. Uh-huh…

Didi Benami: The arm-waving robots were back in the front row for her cover of “Play with Fire.” She flubbed it a bit by dropping the melody at the beginning and pushing the notes too hard, but this was probably her best performance.

Read the rest of the recap now at Project Q Atlanta!

Poetry and Paris

I've re-immersed myself in poetry the last few days, completing a video for two poems that will appear on the YouTube literary magazine, Shape of A Box, in the near future. I'd never used the iMovie function on my MacBook, so it took me a few days to figure out synching up the images with my voice, creating transitions, title cards, etc. Using free images from Google and stock images from iStockphoto, I think the video looks pretty good for a first effort. I hope you'll agree when the video goes live.

I received rejections from two literary magazines last week, one of which didn't even bother to spell my name correctly in their email reply. It makes me wonder if they even bothered to read the work. Fuck 'em. I've put together a list of magazines to submit poems to this year, and I'm still at the top, so I'll just keep working my way down. I'm still amazed at the number of literary magazines that won't accept email submissions. Not only is is expensive and a pain in the ass, but it's a waste of trees. Come on, journals, catch up with the 21st century. There's no excuse.

Today, I emceed the state finals for the Poetry Out Loud competition at the Atlanta History Center. Gabriel Mustin was the winner and will represent Georgia at the national recitation contest in Washington D.C. in April.

On Saturday, I finished an essay called "Examining Place: The Paris of Conquering Venus," which will appear on Chelle Codero's blog. It's an extension of the blog tour for the novel, and I appreciate Chelle -- a fellow Vanilla Heart author -- for asking me to submit the essay. I'm working on a section of the second novel that is set in Paris in 1968, so the city has been on my mind. I'm also planning to be there for a few days this summer and I'm ready to get out and explore Paris all over again.

Speaking of Paris, if you haven't already checked out Paris 26 Gigapixels, please do so. It's an astonishing high-resolution panorama of the city, with little icons you can click for more information about Paris' landmarks.

Weekend Music: Telephone - Lady Gaga ft. Beyonce

Absolutely insane, but brilliant. Love that the Pussy Wagon from Kill Bill makes an appearance, too.

Worst season of American Idol EVER!

You can read my recap of tonight's "American Idol" and weep -- just like poor Alex Lambert and Lilly Scott -- at Project Q Atlanta now. Fox needs to pull the plug after this season. Seriously.

American Idol 9 - Top 8 Guys Perform

After an eye-roll inducing opening with dramatic lighting and Miss Seacrest inspecting the troops, the Top 8 boys got down to business on “American Idol” and actually did a better job than the girls.

Still, two more guys are going home tomorrow—along with two girls—so we’ll finally be down to the Top 12. Note to Simon: Button up that shirt because those sun burnt moobs are not sexy. Ugh.

Lee DeWyze: (pictured) “Fireflies” by Owl City is still in the charts, and Lee’s stripped-down version was like a bar band cover at last call. It wasn’t bad, just not very memorable. He could be cursed by going first.

Alex Lambert: He has a great, raspy voice, and I thought he did a fine job with Ray LaMontagne’s “Trouble.” The judges said he was still too nervous, stiff and needed to loosen up. The mullet definitely needs a trim.

Tim Urban: No one is ever going to top Cohen’s original or Buckley’s masterful cover of “Hallelujah,” but Tim was restrained and mostly on pitch. The judges were a little too enthusiastic (Ellen ran up on stage and hugged him), but it was his best performance so far. Maybe Tim and Alex can get a two-for-one at Supercuts.

Read the rest of the recap at Project Q Atlanta now!

American Idol 9 - Top 8 Girls Perform

With only eight girls left, Tuesday’s episode of “American Idol” was cut to an hour, which meant very little yammering by Miss Seacrest. That was one blessing.

But we did have to endure Ellen pawing all over Simon during the judges’ introductions to dispel rumors they aren’t getting along. Blech.

Katie Stevens: She’s pretty and has a pleasant voice, but she’s boring. Her cover of Kelly Clarkson’s “Break Away” was copycat karaoke, but nowhere close to the original. At 17, the most Katie has ever had to break away from is texting with her girlfriends.

Sibohan Magnus: (pictured) She’s the dark horse for sure, and after a masterful cover of “House of the Rising Sun,” Crystal Bowersox has some serious competition. Simon hated it, but he’s already pimping Bowersox as the winner in interviews.

Lacey Brown: She sang Brandi Carlile’s “The Story” with her quivering voice that sounds like a cross between Harriet Wheeler from The Sundays and Leigh Nash from Sixpence None the Richer—but of course, isn’t nearly as good. Lacey can interpret, but brings nothing new to the mix.

Read the rest of the recap at Project Q Atlanta now!

See This: Alice in Wonderland (2010, Tim Burton)

I am recommending Alice in Wonderland, but with reservations. Unfortunately, what's wrong with the film is Alice herself; Mia Wasikowska in the title role is almost the film's undoing. I can't think of an actress more poorly cast.

It doesn't help that Burton decided to go with a "re-imagining" of the classic Lewis Carroll tale, combining elements of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and then making his heroine a sullen 19-year-old girl. Wasikowska looks like Alice, she just doesn't act like Alice. Or act in general, using various frowns to display a range of emotions that never seem to rise above somnambulance.

Alice has forgotten about her former trips to Wonderland and is now being forced into an arranged marriage. When she sees the White Rabbit (voiced by Michael Sheen), she follows him down the rabbit hole back to Wonderland, which is now a bombed out, desolate place called Underland. It's ruled mercilessly by the Red Queen, played by the brilliant, scene-stealing Helena Bonham Carter. With her head blown up three times its normal size, she is both a source of humor and tyranny.

Alice soon meets up with all her old pals: Tweedledee and Tweedledum (Matt Lucas), the Cheshire Cate (Stephen Fry), the hookah smoking Caterpillar (Alan Rickman), Dormouse (Barbara Windsor) and the Mad Hatter, played by Johnny Depp. Using a mix of live action and animation, the computer-generated animals blend perfectly with their human counterparts, but the magic that was once in that accomplishment is missing. Maybe it's because we've seen it done before – and better – in other films.

Mad Hatter and Co. decide that Alice is the only one who can return the power of Underland to the exiled White Queen (a floaty, over the top Anne Hathaway in Baby Jane Hudson make-up) by slaying the fearsome Jabberwocky, a dragon under the control of the Red Queen.

Depp is deliriously demented as the Hatter, and seems to be drawing on Willy Wonka and some of the other crazies he's played. He's taken prisoner by the Red Queen, hoping she can find the whereabouts of Alice and destroy her once and for all. Depp and Bonham Carter's scenes together just about rescue the film as he tries to create millinery suitable for her bulbous head. Crispin Glover prances about as the Knave of Hearts, and seeing the usually deranged Glover playing it straight as cartoon villain is almost depressing.

Meanwhile, Alice keeps telling herself she's in a dream, so she's scared of nothing and wanders from scene to scene looking put-upon or bored. It's not until she's forced into a suit of armor and forced to battle the Jabberwocky that anything verging on range comes through Wasakowski. The epic battle sees the White Queen and the Red Queen's pawns squaring off on a chessboard and, disappointingly, it's second-rate Lord of the Rings and then a little third-rate Wizard of Oz as the White Queen sends Alice home after she's slain the Jabberwocky. And, no, that's not a spoiler.

I guess with Tim Burton at the helm, I was expecting something a little more dark and twisted. It is dark -- as dark as Disney Films would allow it to be -- and I wouldn't recommend it for young kids. But after seeing films like Lord of the Rings and Avatar, the visual punch you've come to expect just isn't there. Yes, there is a 3-D version of Alice, but don't bother. Friday the 13th 3D had better effects.

Go see it for Helena and Johnny. It's worth the price of a matinee.

Weekend Music: Stylo - Gorillaz ft. Mos Def & Bobby Womack

Gorillaz are back with a brilliant song, "Stylo," featuring vocals by Mos Def and the legendary Bobby Womack. The video is a great homage to all those car chase films and Bruce Willis gets some of his bad ass cred back, too. The single is from the album Plastic Beach, which is out next week.

American Idol 9 - 20 Become 16

Four more contestants were given the boot Thursday on “American Idol,” and I think the voting public almost got it right this week.

Before the results, we had to listen to the auto-tuned, lip-synched group sing of “I Got A Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas. I’m not even sure it was the actual Top 20 singing, because all the voices sounded eerily robotic and alike. If you have to auto-tune the contestants on a singing competition, it doesn’t say much about the producers’ belief in its singers. Just sayin’…

Find out who got voted off by reading the rest of the recap at Project Q Atlanta.

Venus Review, Saints & Sinners, Poetry Atlanta

OutSmart Magazine has given Conquering Venus a lovely little review in the latest edition. Reviewer Angel Curtis says: "This stunning debut novel is everything—a poetic page-turner, a wonderful mystery, and a compelling story of self-realization." Read the full review at this link.

I'm going back to the Saints & Sinners Literary Festival in New Orleans, May 13-16. I'll be reading from Venus and sitting on a panel or two. More details as I have them.

The next Poetry Atlanta Presents... is set for April 1 and I'm excited that January O'Neil will be coming down to read from her new collection, Underlife. James May, a fine local poet and editor of New South literary journal, will be reading, too.

American Idol 9 - Top 10 Girls Perform

It’s a good thing contender Crystal Bowersox recovered in time to perform Wednesday on “American Idol,” or she would have been automatically eliminated. She—and the show—reaped the rewards.

The news of her possible disqualification came from “Idol” producer Ken Warwick on Miss Seacrest’s radio show this morning. Luckily, Crystal was released from the hospital today (complications due to diabetes, according to media reports) and opened the show.

Crystal Bowersox: She came back firing on all thrusters, setting the bar high for the rest of the girls with a beautiful cover of “Long As I Can See the Light” by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Even before Kara DioLaguardiaAirport said it, I had written “effortless” in my notes.

Haeley Vaughn: I never thought I’d be praising Miley Cyrus’ vocals, but after hearing Haeley’s nightmarishly out of tune version of “The Climb,” Miley is fucking Maria Callas by comparison. Is Haeley a simpleton? She can’t stop smiling even when being massacred by the judges.

Lacey Brown: She should have gone home last week after desecrating “Landslide,” but Lacey decided to take Kara’s suggestion and cover “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer. It was karaoke at best, with some odd, unnecessary flourishes. I think she should go back to restoring furniture.

Read the rest of the recap at Project Q Atlanta.

American Idol 9 - Top 10 Guys Perform

Word came late Tuesday from “American Idol” producers that Crystal Bowersox was ill and hospitalized. That meant a bit of the old switcheroo: The guys performed with the girls rescheduled for Wednesday.

Bowersox is the girls’ best chance of producing a winner this year. The show didn’t offer details on her illness, but the L.A. Times said it was diabetes-related complications.

If you watched last week, you’ll know the guys were piss-poor, so they tried to step it up Tuesday with varying results.

Michael Lynche: After last week’s uninspired Maroon 5 cover, Big Mike unleashed his inner drama queen and performed a soulful, hard-to-top version of James Brown’s “A Man’s World.” As a side note, Mike can bench press 505 pounds, which adds up to four Miss Seacrests or a dozen Aaron Kellys.

John Park: Cute as he is, John is a stale old piece of toast (thank you, Patsy Stone). His cover of “Gravity” by John Mayer was much better than last week’s self-indulgent “God Bless the Child,” but his lack of charisma makes him forgettable. Simon said he’s probably going home Thursday.

Casey James: When he found out that every would-be rocker had performed Gavin Degraw’s “I Don’t Wanna Be” on “Idol” seasons past, cougar bait should have picked a different song. Instead, he gave a sloppy, copycat version and tried to cover up with his electric guitar. Kara and Simon thought he was trying too hard to be a rock star, but he’s safe no matter what.

Read the rest of the recap at Project Q Atlanta now!