Idol #6

I was less shocked that Siabjon (I never spell it the same week to week) was voted out and more disappointed. Let's face it, the show just got a LOT more boring. She was one of the more interesting contestants of all-time in my opinion. And she was certainly talented. America stinks. Here's my rankings for this week...

17 Casey James (137)
17 Aaron Kelly (126)
16 Siabjon Magnus (138)
16 Michael Lynch (138)
15 Lee Dewize (140)
14 Crystal Bowersox (148)

I am still confident that it will come down to Lee & Crystal (I think Lee will win). But I really thought Siabjon deserved 3rd place. Now I am perplexed.

Idol #7

In my transition from the apartment to our first home, I missed American Idol last week. But since I'm not really an Elvis fan, it was no big deal. I can't say I'm surprised that Katy and Andrew were voted off as they were definitely two of the most underwhelming contestants left. So we're down to our final 7. Here are my scores for the night (overall score in parenthesis):

17 Lee Dewize (125)
17 Crystal Bowersox (134)
15 Aaron Kelly (109)
14 Siobhan Magnus (122)
14 Michael Lynch (122)
13 Casey James (120)
12 Tim Urban (100)

Based on this, I again declare that Tim should be voted off. Casey and Michael, I think, are both in trouble. The more I think about it, the more I think that Lee is going to win this year. He's a little more 'pop' friendly than Crystal and, frankly, she'd be better off on her own than with all that comes with 'winning' American Idol. I think Siobhan will finish 3rd.

Idol #9

I thought this was one of the better episodes of American Idol in terms of performances. There was a lot of variety and, more importantly, a lot of quality. In fact, the only one I felt was below average was Aaron Kelly. Here are my rankings for the week (running tally in parenthesis):

17 Casey James (107)
17 Crystal Bowersox (117)
17 Katie Stevens (98)
16 Lee Dewize (108)
16 Siabhan Magnus (108)
16 Tim Urban (88)
16 Michael Lynch (108)
15 Andrew Garcia (96)
13 Aaron Kelly (94)

Based on these rankings, I'd hope that Aaron is in the bottom 3. Tim, despite his best week, should also still be in the bottom 3. Andrew should probably be the other, but it could still be Katie. I'd be very surprised to see anyone else in the bottom 3. I predict, though, that Tim will actually be voted off. It'll be nice for him to go out on a high note.

MOST

This is a good Easter video illustration. I actually own 2 copies of the short-film MOST if anyone local wants to borrow it (pretty moving).

Such was the Suffering

Arrest
Accepts Cup (Matt 26:39, 42)
Deserted (Matt 26:56b)

Before Annas
Bound (John 18:12)
Struck (John 18:22)

Before Caiaphas
Spit on (Matt 26:67)
Blindfolded (Mark 14:65)
Mocked (Matt 26:68)
Struck/Slapped (Matt 26:67)
Beaten (Mark 16:65)
Insults (Luke 22:65)

Before Sanhedrin
Condemned (Matthew 27:1)
Bound (Matthew 27:2)

Before Pilate

Before Herod
Mocked (Luke 23:11)

Before Pilate
Flogged (Matt 27:26)

Soldiers
Stripped (Matt 27:28)
Thorns (Matt 27:28)
Mocked (Matt 27:28-29)
Spit on (Matt 27:30)
Struck (Matt 27:30
Disrobed (Matt 27:31)

Cross
Carried Cross (John 19:17)
Nailed to Cross (John 20:25)
Disrobed (Matt 27:36)
Mocked (Matt 27:37)
Insulted (Matt 27:39-44)
Forsaken (Matt 27:46)

Idol #10

I was actually sad to see Didi Benami go. Certainly she had a bad week (she had the lowest score of the night on my ratings), but I still think she was better than a few of the remaining contestants. Her and Lilly Scott both had voices that made for enjoyable listening. On the other hand, the constant crying was probably getting annoying to America. Here are my weekly rankings (overall score in parenthesis):

18 Lee Dewize (92)
16 Crystal Bowersox (100)
16 Michael Lynch (92)
16 Casey James (90)
16 Andrew Garcia (81)
14 Siabhan Magnus (92)
14 Katy Stevens (81)
13 Aaron Kelly (81)
13 Tim Urban (72)
12 Didi Benami (84)

So the bottom 3 were indeed on the bottom 4 of my rankings and the one with the worst week did indeed get voted out. Hopefully Tim goes next week with Katy & Aaron to follow. I think Casey, Andrew & Michael will go after that. At this point I think the final 3 will be Crystal, Siabhan & Lee (but Crystal is the only lock)