No One Good Enough To Win It

This season of American Idol is, as Simon Cowell said, turning out to be a very weird one indeed. Well, every season, Simon always says (in commercials) that “we’ve got the best talent yet” and “this is the best season we’ve ever had”. Whoopee.

The contestants who really impressed me at the start of the Top 24 have since gone out – Michael Johns, Carly Smithson and Brook White. Michael Johns and Carly Smithson, though potentially front-runners in the contest, didn’t have enough breakthrough performances to sustain a fan base. I was rooting for them to come up with a heart-stopping number, but other than Johns’ “We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions” and Smithson’s “Jesus Christ Superstar”, they didn’t have many other Idol outings that proved them worthy of winning the competition. Michael Johns’ exit came as quite a surprise. I thought with a suitable song, he could have made it to the final two because he is seriously more charismatic and charming than say, David Cook or David Archuleta. But I guess America doesn’t really know what they’re voting for. Carly should have stayed longer than Brook White or Jason Castro and as I’m writing this, her “Crazy On You” and “Here We Go Again” is lingering in my mind. Her voice is so smooth and husky all at the same time. It has a great tonal quality and with the right song choice, she can be a hit. For these two contestants, I half-suspect not being American killed their chances.

Brook White impressed me with her performance of “Let It Be” but that really became the only song she sang decently well, and a number of nervous, lyric-forgetting performances made me want to strangle her for surviving so long. No offense, but she was starting to irritate me after a while. After “Let It Be”, she sang “Here Comes The Sun” and it was all downhill from then on. Sure, she has a certain likability to her, and she has the potential to sound really good on an acoustic set, but let’s face it, she wasn’t choosing the right songs and I say it again, she was starting to irritate me with her “I’m such an innocent girl who loves singing and performing from my bare heart, and I used to be a nanny!” cutesy bullshit.

Let me now talk about Syesha Mercado. I thought she was all right but I kept mixing her up with Asia’h Epperson and then, I thought there was nothing special about her. Or at least, an okay singer but with no standout quality. She got my attention when I heard her sing The Beatles’ “Got To Get You Into My Life”, which was really the first time she showed any personality and I thought “she’s not half-bad!” A slew of decent performances (Eva Cassidy’s “Yesterday”, Stephanie Mills’ “If I Was Your Woman”, Dolly Parton and Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” and Fantasia’s “I Believe”) made me sit up and really believe she had something special in her. They were a string of technically en pointe performances and to give credit where credit is due, they were demanding songs to sing and she pulled them off. I felt the judges weren’t giving her due credit for the chances she was taking with these bold choices. Then came “One Rock And Roll Too Many” during Andrew Lloyd Webber week and she was the best singer and performer that week. She left many of her fellow contestants out cold (especially Castro’s butchering of “Memory”) and for the first time, I saw that she was enjoying herself immensely and singing to win. If anyone deserves to progress to the top three, it is Syesha, for being the most improved and most hardworking contestant.

Jason Castro has overstayed his welcome. Sure, he was unique at first. And “Hallelujah”, his best performance came too early in the competition because he, like Brook White, became bland and predictable. Not so predictable was his butchering (as I’ve mentioned earlier) of several songs. So, the guitar-playing hippie with the d’locks - I rest my case, you have to go. I don’t even see the qualities of a record-selling artist, let alone still have millions of votes keeping you in.

So, as many predicted early in the competition, it will be a David vs. David final. Not because this is a singing competition, but because this is a competition decided by the popular vote. And it happens that the voting audience is predominantly female, which makes me wonder really, how come better singers (than David A. and David C. and equally charming) from other seasons, like Chris Daughtry, didn’t win the competition. And then I remember that Melinda Doolittle was robbed of her title by shrieky and I’m-so-cute Jordin, and beaten to the final by talent-less Blake, who really didn’t belong in a singing competition. American Idol is such a flawed talent show.

My thoughts on David vs. David? It doesn’t matter, really. They each belong to different genres of music, and other than having female fans with raging hormones (and of course, the same first name), they have little in common. David Archuleta’s voice is excellent but every week is quickly becoming the same - pop ballads given the same silly treatment, à la Mariah Carey; melodic runs that just spoil the simple great melody of the song. He’ll have a sellout debut album but with every single sounding the same, he’s not going to last long. David Cook is unique and has the ability to change up the songs to suit today’s style. I feel that his singing is little too contrived though, that he’s trying too hard to be cool and emo at the same time and it really doesn’t work. He’s trying way too hard and it comes off as artificial, the way he sticks out his tongue slightly and his antics when rocking out a song.

Whatever the outcome of this season, it is definitely not the best season nor talent yet. Not because anyone could have won it, but rather, no one was good enough to win it.

An update

Finally a new entry. It’s been a long time coming.

I’ve kept a pretty low online profile lately, largely due to work. After facing the computer for most of the day, the last thing I want really, is to come home and do the same.

So I’ve been busy with work. Editorial work can get a little mundane sometimes, but it’s really exciting to be driven by deadlines, and for the most part, to see the transformation of what comes in from our writers as mere words on a word document into a book, complete with colours and pictures. What makes everything better is that I’m dealing with lifestyle content, travel and living, food, hotels, restaurants, bars, clubs and everything a tourist needs to know about. So the content makes the editorial process a whole lot more interesting.

Some of the places I’ve worked on so far include Singapore, KL, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing, Thailand, Cambodia, and soon to come, more Singapore, Bangkok and Vietnam. The titles that I play a small role in, well, I don’t feel so much towards them, but the books that I’ve worked really hard on, such as Smart Guide Tokyo and Step-by-Step KL, and of course, my City Guide Singapore, I really want them to turn out well and I long for the day they are finally published.

2007 and 2008 are turning out to be really life-changing years, I must say.

Someone needs to be held responsible.

If they want to be paid with a salary pegged to the private sector, they should also be prepared to face ‘punishments’ their private sector counterparts would face upon screwing up.

D.C.’s Hidden Gem

By JEREMY HOU; 7 July 2007

WASHINGTON, D.C. — At a time when the prevalence of technology over modern society seems commonplace, Daniel Falk admits that it is hard for one to imagine the workings of a postal system in past centuries. As the Exhibitions Specialist of the National Postal Museum, the 28-year-old Falk says his job involves taking visitors on a journey through three centuries of postal history to better understand today’s postal system.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Falk graduated with a degree in Classical History from Rutgers University in 2001. His parents were both employed by the Smithsonian Institution. He has been working at the National Postal Museum for the last four years and imagines himself to be there for quite a while. Dressed in a blue polo T-shirt and khaki pants on a casual Friday, Falk walks around the museum with a walkie-talkie in his hand. He speaks quickly, but retains a sincere tone and a warm smile – one gets the impression that he is proud of the museum’s exhibits.

“Some of our popular exhibits include Binding the Nation and Moving the Mail,” said Falk. “Both of them are very educational in terms of illustrating how mail used to be delivered, from horse-drawn carriages, to rail, to airmail.”

Allison Wickens, Director of Education at the National Postal Museum, agreed with Falk. She works closely with Falk to monitor visitor response. According to the most recent survey she conducted in July 2005, the National Postal Museum receives about 400,000 visitors annually and a majority of them are families who come in spring and summer. About 10 percent of their visitors are foreigners. Wickens added that the National Postal Museum is the definitive authority on postal history in the United States.

Set up by an agreement between the Smithsonian Institution and the United States Postal Service in 1990, the National Postal Museum opened to the public on July 30, 1993. It is housed on the lower level of the old City Post Office Building, which was constructed in 1914 and served as the main post office of Washington, D.C. till 1986.

One artifact that stands out is a U.S. mail carton that was retrieved from the debris of United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001. It may not belong to the rich history of the U.S. postal system, but it marks a move away from mail delivery via commercial flights. According to Lynn Heidelbaugh, Assistant Curator at the National Postal Museum, the United States Postal System no longer delivers its mail packages via commercial flights because of the inability to scan the contents of the packages.

Nancy Pope has been working for the Smithsonian Institution since 1984. As Historian and Curator at the National Postal Museum, she explains that the National Postal Museum has a greater significance than one would imagine. Other than its philatelic section that appeals to stamp experts, its exhibits and information on postal history “deals with transport and communications methodology for the past 200 years.”

“The postal system is universal. It is a service to and from all,” said Pope. “I have visitors who come and remark that their experience went better than they expected.”

Dan Falk feels satisfied that he fulfilled his goal of educating visitors through the exhibits, but adds that the museum could do better.

“The Postal Museum is a hard sell. How do you promote it to tourists unless they have a specific interest in stamps?” he said. “This is Washington’s hidden gem, an oasis outside the crowds of the National Mall.”

Motivating myself to work on assignments has never seemed so difficult before. After confiding in different people about my current problem, I concur that escapism is part of my way of life. It’s just a behavioral instinct for me. Call it crisis management, if you will.

I keep telling myself not to let this blog die but it seems there is no point in keeping it. Each time I think I have something to say, I log on but then my mind goes blank or whatever I was thinking of writing before didn’t seem important anymore.

30 weeks in the US. 30 down.

So finally it’s time for me to bid adieu to the US. It’s been 30 splendid weeks and I couldn’t have asked for more. Oh of course, saying goodbye to the US in New York is never the easiest thing to do. One can never say goodbye to New York.

But it is time for me to go home. Home to my family and friends where life can return to normal. Home-cooked meals prepared by my parents; coffee, dinners and ice-cream and much more with dearly missed friends. I can finally sleep in my own bed again, stop living out of a suitcase, and just feel comfortable in an environment that I know so well.

No more junk food, no more burgers, no more sandwiches, no more fast food, no more pizza, no more fries, no more hot dogs. Sadly, no more Abercrombie and Fitch, no more Cold Stone ice-cream, no more Broadway, no more adorable ang moh children, and no more cheap Ben & Jerry’s.

My flight leaves Ithaca in about six hours and I will be arriving at Changi Airport Terminal One on Thursday at 12:55 a.m. on Northwest 5. Yes, a coincidence that I’m arriving in time for National Day.

I kind of have a list of cravings to fulfill. In no particular order:

1. Min Jiang Dim Sum at Goodwood Park Hotel
2. Claypot Crab Bee Hoon at Ang Mo Kio Avenue One
3. Nasi Lemak from Boon Lay
4. Carrot Cake (both white and black)
5. Calamari at Fish and Co.
6. Crystal Jade Fried Rice and Congee
7. Japanese food at Sushi Tei
8. Pasir Panjang Stingray
9. My parents’ broiled chicken wings
10. Lots of Asian food - phad thai, mee goreng, beef noodles, beef hor fun, hokkien mee, fish ball mee pok, indian rojak, chinese rojak, yong tau foo, ban mian

See you guys soon.

For some reason, I’m receiving more visitors to this blog, than to the one I’m updating more frequently. So for those who are interested and didn’t know of my US blog, it’s NY State of Mind and that’s the one to read if you want to know more about my time in the US.

The only thing is that the entries are not updated as timely as they should be. It’s hard, when you are traveling to so many cities, and internet is not that easily accessed. But anyway, I’m now in Washington, D.C., attending a summer class called Political Journalism taught by a professor from Ithaca College. It’s been very informative and I’ve learned quite a bit about the White House, the US Capitol and the Supreme Court - basically how this country’s federal government works. Many things to share, but in due time.

My flight arrives in Singapore on August 9, 1AM.

See you guys soon.

Counting down.

Home sweet home on August 9. Three more weeks and my time in the US is done.

This is life.

Sitting in an Italian cafe at Santa Monica Beach with Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez playing.

Why am I not in Europe right this minute?

Snobbish Bostonians.

I am pissed off. It’s true that everything has a price. Nothing comes free.

Yeh Yang and I are in Boston now. We walked through the theater district and someone gave us free tickets to watch a musical. It’s really true that nothing comes free. Even if there is no monetary cost, there’s always an opportunity cost of some sort.

The musical was terrible. For a while before it started, we couldn’t believe our luck at being at the right place at the right time. Somehow, we knew it can’t be that easy.

Other than having to endure many cringe-worthy moments in the musical, we also had to deal with the snobbish Bostonians. I don’t think Yeh Yang knew about this.

But after we left the theater, I overheard two ladies behind us talking about our attire. Yeh Yang had warned me earlier that some clubs and bars in Boston require men to be dressed in trousers and leather shoes, no sneakers. Yeh Yang and I were decently dressed. Jeans and sneakers. And my suspicions were aroused as I waited for Yeh Yang outside the washroom because people walking past me glanced down at my shoes, which really amused me. It was only when I overheard what those two ladies said that I realized why Yeh Yang and I stood out from the crowd.

I didn’t think we were too sloppily dressed. But the ladies mentioned “jeans”, “shoes” and “cap”, which is how we were dressed. They also went as far as to say that anyone on the streets could have walked into the theater. Theater isn’t just for rich and famous people. Blah. I am so so disgusted.

I am pissed off that people judge us based on our appearance because this is Boston after all. I don’t see a reason to dress up here. And I’m glad that I didn’t, because that would have made me feel silly, seeing how lousy the musical was. And those two ladies really should mind their own business.