Ashitaka's Angels special edition Doctor Who after-episode reaction Podcast!

doctor who 6.2 by Ashitaka's Angels

WAT.

Oh, you're in for a treat, my friends. Zozizzle and I got together to watch the conclusion of the Doctor Who season 6 two-part premiere and immediately decided our unfiltered general confusion, flail, pleading towards Steven Moffat, shouted questions in anguish, violence towards one another, Robin Hood tangents, and all around buffoonery needed to be shared with the world. So here it is, 20 minutes of podcast for "The Day of the Moon", a fantastical (and horrifying) outing of our beloved Doctor Who.

Enjoy!

"Jersey Shore" Gone Wilde. Oscar Wilde.

Though I've delved into many reality shows (a lot of which are guilty pleasures), the world of "Jersey Shore" is not one into which I've ventured. I've just never gotten around to it because it hasn't held much appeal for me. This little number, however, ups the entertainment value considerably: it has fancily-dressed actors delivering only the choicest dialogue (taken right from episodes of"Jersey Shore") in posh British accents.

Dear gentlemen from Broadway's "The Importance of Being Earnest," I bow to you. What you've done I can only describe in one word: scrumtrulescent.

Part 1:



Part 2:



Part 3:



*Should you wish to see them, parts 4 and 5 can be found here and here.

Doctor Who 6.1 "The Impossible Astronaut, Part 1": The Live Blog Edition!

WARNING: If you have NOT seen the premiere yet, READ NO FURTHER for there will be, in the words of River Song...

...SPOILERS. 

However, if you HAVE seen it, come on in! The water's fine. Sort of.
Welcome to our  recap in which we, two-thirds of the Ashitaka's Angels, keysmash and capslock-yell our way through the Doctor Who Season 6 Premiere. In true Ashitaka's Angels style, this post is going to have the minimum amount of coherency and the maximum amount of flailing. There will be pretty pictures, though! Consider it our (belated) Easter gift to you. A nonsensical, capslock-filled, confusion-ridden (belated) Easter gift.

The stetson'd Doctor welcomes you in.

"I wear stetsons now. Stetsons are cool."

In general, the episode was seven kinds of brilliant. Much like the best Doctor Who episodes, "The Impossible Astronaut, Part 1" was filled with moments that ranged from very touching to outright horrifying to downright mind-boggling. When the episode was over, we came away with a lot of revelations and a whole lot more questions.

First, here's what we found out:

1) (Not Related to the Show) We Were Determined To Watch, Obstacles Be Damned

Yes, there was one horrifying moment within the first 30 seconds of the show. And it didn't even have anything to do with the episode. It had everything to do with, um, technical difficulties:

Lea: my dad is hogging the tv OMG NOOOOOO

 Z: NOOOOOOOOOOO

9:00 PM get on that television!!!

  should i stop watching?

  i'm recording it

9:01 PM Lea: oh fuck balls

 Z: wha happened?

 Lea: ok, i'm watching it but idk if i'm a little behind

9:02 PM Z: amy just got a blue envelope

  river song is onscreen

  

 Lea: i'm not at River Song yettttt fuuuuuuuu

 Z: okay

  i'll wait

 Lea: oh, there she is

  lol

 Z: when you get to the bus, tell meZ: do you see the bus yet?Lea: BUSZ: k!!!

We wasted no time in mitigating the problem because, let's face it, nothing comes between TV bloggers and their TV shows. Especially shows about time-traveling Doctors.

In fact, by the time the intro came on, we were all sync-ed up and settled in:

*Do do dooo!* You know you sing the theme song, too! ...Right?...Anybody?

Z: this is a new intro

 Lea: omg new opening?

  ooooooooooooh

 Z: I KNOW, RIGHT!

  it's very amy-intensive

 Lea: sings along

 Z: doo doo doo

 Lea: doo dooooooo

2) (Related to the Show) Doctor Who Fraks With Your Heart & Mind; Also, Steven Moffat is a Sick, Sick Puppetmaster

The Doctor dies in this episode, guys. Killed mid-regeneration by a mysterious astronaut. We were, to put it lightly, distraught: 

Astronaut arrives; The Doctor: Still alive

Astronaut Shoots and Leaves; Doctor: Dead; Us: Devastated

Z: ASTRONAUTZ: what is going on?

 Lea: WAAAAAAAAT

  OMGOMG

 Z: who's inside

9:08 PM Lea: WAT WAT WAT WATWAT

  WHO IS IT?!

 Z: WHHHHAAAAAAAAAAA

 Lea: OMG WHAT IS HAPPENING NOOOOOOO

 Z: he just got shot!!!!!

9:09 PM is he.....

 Lea: OMG

  no

 me: killed mid regeneration????

  that is a first

 Lea: WAT NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

9:10 PM NO HE IS NOT, SHUT YOUR MOUTH

  

  I'M CRYIIIIIIIIIIIING

 Z: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

9:11 PM Lea: WHY?!

  I'M HYPERVENTELATING ON MY COUCH RIGHT NOW

                   Lea: WHY IS THIS HAPPENING I'M SO DISTRAUGHT RIGHT NOW

9:13 PM     AL;SDKJFL;SDKJF;ALSDJF

  
I'M IN A GLASS CASE OF EMOTIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON

3) In the Same Vein, Doctor Who Never Ceases to Fascinate and Confuse Us...But Mainly Confuse Us

For a timelord, time is never in a straight line. To borrow from the tenth Doctor (David Tennant shoutout!), it's more like a "big ball of wibbly, wobbly, timey, wimey stuff." Which makes perfect sense to a timelord. But for two bloggers, who are most certainly NOT timelords?...Not so much. 

One source of confusion was when the Doctor came back to life. But...he really didn't come back to life so much as not die yet, making him the Past!Doctor. It was the Future!Doctor that died. See? It's confusing.

The Past!Doctor and his special straw.

Z: HE'S BACCCCKKK

 Lea: AS;LDKFJDKSLA;SLDKFJDKSLA;SLKDJFDKLA;

9:16 PM MY SPECIAL STRAW

 Z: this an emotional rollercoaster

 Lea: DOCTOR, YOU EFFIN BASTARD

 Z: STEVEN MOFFAT, STOP IT

 Lea: YOU. BASTARD.

Lea: that exposition went by so fast and i know i missed most of it

  so this Doctor we're seeing now is Future!Doctor?

9:20 PM Z: no

  it's the past!doctor

  the future!doctor just died

  the past doctor is 200 years younger than the doctor at the beginning

 Lea: frick

9:21 PM future doctor invited past doctor to the restaraunt

 Z: yes!

9:22 PM that's what i've got down

 Lea: K.........still........WTF

 Z: yeah. i have no idea, either

  

This and other plot developments opened up a whole bag of questions/theories. But, more on those later. 

Another thing we found out:
3) Mark Sheppard WILL Find His Way Onto Every Show We Watch

Romo Lampkin, is that you? What are you doing off of Galactica? 

This man's TV guest appearances include, but are not limited to:

• Firefly (Badger)
• 24 (Ivan Erwich)
• Dollhouse (Tanaka)
• Chuck (Ring Director), 
• Supernatural (Crowley, McLeod)
• Battlestar: Galactica (Romo Lampkin, WUT WUT)
• and now Doctor Who (Canton Everett Delaware III)

According to my precise calculations, he has appeared in 90-100% of the shows Lea and I have ever been fans of. Come to think of it, he probably managed to wriggle his way into an episode of another one of our favorite shows, Lost. I wouldn't put it past him if he just whispered to a producer and got himself CGI'd into the background. The smoke monster? That was really just him.

Mark Sheppard. In the TARDIS. In Lea's words: the luckiest bastard alive.

Z: Romo Lampkin!

 Lea: OMG MARK SHEPPARD

9:26 PM CONTINUING HIS QUEST TO BE IN EVERY SHOW I'VE EVER WATCHED

 Z: it's so true. only this time, he's got an american accent?

Lea: omg Mark Shepphard has been on Serenity, Galactica, AND THE Tardis!

  "IT'S BIGGER ON THE INSIDE"

9:44 PM Z: he has gone where every nerd wants to go

4) One of Us Has An Immense Fear of Alien Faces

Don't look away, gurl! You gon' die!

Too late. AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Lea: OMGGLASKDFJGAWIRGJOMG

  OMGOMGOGMOGM

  I JUST SCREAMED OUT LOUD

  

9:36 PM OMG WTF THAT THING WAS SO SCARY OMG

 Z: I WAS JUST THINKING THAT

  ALIIIIEEENNNN

 Lea: IT'S SO SCARY

  CRYING CRYIIIIIING A;LSDKFJAS;LDKFJ

 Lea: OH

  MY

  GOD

 Z: it erases your memory

 Lea: OH MY FREAKIN GOD

 Z: GUUUURRRLLL

Z: IT HAS FREAKY HANDS

9:39 PM Lea: LS;DKFJLASDKGJHOIWERAI;SNBLKASNFBS;WEIUFJALS;DGNALSFH;LSKCVASRHGOAIWRJS;FLAKJSDLKGJLAFKSDJGLSDK;FJAOSIGJAS;LDGJKFOWRIGJ

  BREATHE IT'S SO SCAAAAAAAAAARY I'M SO FREAKED OUT RIGHT NOW

9:40 PM Z: are you watching in the dark?Lea: Yes. i am legitimately terrified omg. my brother was even freaking out lololol

Those are the things we found out. Onto the things we didn't and still don't know--a.k.a. the questions/theories portion of this post, a portion I'd like to call:


"WTF, DOCTOR WHO?! WHA HAPPENED?"


Our first big question:
1) River Song, WHO ARE YOU????!!

Srsly, though. Throw us a flippin' bone here, River!

Exchanges similar to this one...


Lea: WHO ARE YOU, RIVER SONG?!

 Z: NO ONE KNOWS

...happened frequently while we were watching. 

This is what we do know. 
1) She is constantly breaking out of horribly guarded space-prison. 
2) The more she gets to know the Doctor, the less he knows her. 
3) She is a BAMF, no doubt. 
4) A flurry of questions always surrounds her, making her a MYSTERIOUS! BAMF.  


...And that is the sum of our knowledge.


What kind of relationship  did/will she have with the Doctor?! What did she mean when she told the Doctor he knew she was a "screamer"??? WHAT IS ALL THIS LEADING TO??? 


Do any of you know? Because I have No Idea.


2) HOW IS BABBY FORMED. HOW AMY GET PRAGNENT

Guuurrl. Who the baby daddy?

So, Rory and Amy have been married for a little while. It would seem only natural that Amy happens to be pregnant, right? WRONG. This is DOCTOR WHO, so this isn't just some normal pregnancy that they would just casually mention. No, this has got to be important. But how? Our theories emerged as such:

Lea: So....what do you think about Amy's pregnancy?

10:13 PM Z: it makes me happy!

 Lea: Do you think it's just straightforward and Rory is the father and that's it?

  or is there some ~secret there

 Z: well, who actually knows

 Lea: or it'll get complicated

  OR RIVER SONG IS REALLY THEIR DAUGHTER :O

 Z: that'd be something if it was part timelord

  OMG

  WAT

  DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU JUST DID

10:14 PM MY HEAD EXPLODED

 Lea: BOOM!

  lolol idk if i actually believe that

  but i just wonderrrrrr

 Z: that's an interesting theory!

 Lea: like, WHY DID AMY HAVE TO TELL HIM SO BADLY?

  Why was it so important she tell him that she was pregnant?

10:15 PM Z: THE CHILD. IT'S SPECIAL.

  i have no idea

 Lea: i think there's going to be something fishy w/ the pregnancy

10:16 PM I WOULD LOVE IT IF IT WAS JUST HER AND RORY'S BABBY AND THEY LIVE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE AND RORY GROWS A MULLET

3) Who Is That Child In the Spacesuit?

W.T.A.F. What. Child. Is. This?!

Is this the person in the spacesuit at the beginning of the episode (who also shot the Future!Doctor)? Is this a character's future child? Is she even a real child? Did Amy actually kill her at the end? Again, our wild theories emerged. We may have gotten carried away. All the way into another show--Game of Thrones:

Lea: i wonder if the little girl is still in the astronaut

  but [The Doctor] knows them still?

 Z: could be! do you think amy killed her?

10:56 PM Lea: maybe the child in the astronaut IS AMY'S CHILD!

  :O

  I'm just throwing out the most ridiculous theories ignore me

10:57 PM Z: but they could be true!

  who really knows

10:58 PM Lea: OMG SO MANY QUESTIONS

 Z: Wait! i have the answer!

10:59 PM the child in the space suit is the lovechild of rhaegar targaryen and lyanna stark: jon snow

11:00 PM Lea: IT ALL MAKES SENSE!!!!!!!

  secrets and lies and secrets

11:01 PM Z: we are on to you, Steven Moffat

Concluding Thoughts:
If you couldn't already tell, by the end of the show, we were mesmerized:

Yep. Pretty sure we looked like that through the entire show. BTW, if you've made it all the way to this part of the post, you deserve a stetson.

Lea: IT

  WAS

10:01 PM BRILLIANT

  AMAZING

  SO FREAKIN GOOD

  LEGIT

  LIKE

  DUDE

  OMG

  LOVE

  SO MUCH LOVE

 Z: MY HEART IS FULL

  MY MIND IS FRAKKEDZ: it packed a real emotional wallop at the beginningand, in true doctor who fashion, was still mentally captivating all the way throughthe best doctor who episodes have me by the mind and heartstrings

Enough said. We absolutely cannot wait for Part 2! Catch it on Saturday on BBC America @ 9 p.m.

Until next time!

p.s. Thanks to Lea for her brilliant screencapping skillz :)

Totally flaily and incoherent review of Game of Thrones!!!

IT'S HERE!!!!!!! I really can't believe it's here. I feel like I've been waiting forever and now it's here!!!!!!!

A;LSDFJLASDGHLAKSDJ;LAFJ;LAKSDJF;LASKDJF;LASDFJA;SLDFJ

Ok, so...Ok, I got the first book about 4 years ago when I was a junior in college and while it took me about 2 years to get through all 4 of them (school is busy, yo, and those books are looooong), I completely fell in love. It was unlike any fantasy story I had ever read; gritty and dark and uncompromising and brilliant, and the characters! I could go on and on about how much I love (and hate) these characters.

I still can't believe that right after I finished the 4th book they announced that a pilot was going to be made. AND NOW THE SHOW IS HERE!

And I've only seen the first episode, but al;sdkjfals;djf I LOVED it! LOVED IT. I really don't know if I have anything to complain about. I know I'm going to be biased b/c a lot of my al;sdfj;lasdjf is based on the fact that i'm seeing these characters ~come to life for the first time, but i think the tv show did a really good job of staying faithful to the book while still explaining things for the n00bs. IDK i just thought the look of it was perfect and it moved at a good pace and I JUST REALLY LIKED IT.

Some more thoughts:

• THE FIRST SCENE IS SO CREEPY. SO CREEPY. I've seen it a few times b/c of the 15 minute preview a few weeks ago, but the white walkers still creep me out so much every time. IT WAS PERFECT.

• THE WAAAAAAAAAAALL. BEST THING EVER.

• THE STARK CHILDREN OMG. The first scene w/ them all together looking so happy made me so saaaad ;____; lol. I just absolutely loved how they introduced all of the Stark family throughout the episode. You got a good indication of their characters even w/out that many lines. I WAS JUST REALLY HAPPY WITH SANSA AND ARYA AND BRAN. lol I'm one of the few people in the world who ADORES Sansa with my whole being and I have since the beginning. And I liked the little bit we got with her b/c she IS supposed to be kind of annoying at the beginning. And Sophie Turner is absolutely gorgeous <3 And could they have gotten a cuter child to play Bran?!  OMG BRAN FLAKES :( I LOVE THAT LITTLE CHILD ACTOR. And Arya in her little helmet, ICANNOT.

• UNF JON. UNF ROBB. Thank you episode for giving us a shirtless scene. I know Robb won't have much to do for a while, but UNNNNFFFFFF LET ME STARE, THAT IS FINE. I thought Kit Harington as Jon was great in the scene with Benjen (BENJEN!!) and later w/ Tyrion outside the feast. I look forward to much more emo and brooding in the future :D

• The only scenes that I was kind of 'eh' about were the ones w/ the Dothraki, but I remember feeling the same way in the books. However, on rewatch I liked them a lot more. Emilia Clarke is lovely though even though she doesn't have much to do. The best part of the storyline was Viserys, who I still hate so much but Harry Lloyd is so awesome and amusing to watch lolol.

• I can't believe I went this long w/out mentioning JAIME! A;LSDFJ I feel kind of awkward admitting that Jaime is one of my favorite characters b/c he's just so horrible in the first book lol. But there is something kind of likable about him in the show, something i didn't even really feel whilst reading the first book (no, my Jaime love comes much later in the books). Besides the fact that he is HOT AS HELL, he's kind of charming as well. I STILL HATE ALL THE THINGS YOU CHOOSE TO DO THOUGH, JAIME.

• I was the most worried about Cersei b/c i wasn't sure Lena Headey was going to match up w/ my impressions of the character, but she was great! She's a bit more "reserved" than I imagined her in the books, but still just as bitchy. I loved how much subtle disdain she had while talking to Cat and Sansa at the feast.

• I love that we only got little glimpses of Tyrion but already he is awesome and i want more!

• I want to punch Joffrey in the face already.

• WHAT WERE THOSE CREDITS?! that was pretty damn awesome. and i already have the theme music in my head :D

• PUPPIES!!!! Needs more puppies! 

The problem for me now is that I WANT ALL THE EPISODES NOW!!!!! I feel like this is torture having to wait a week between episodes! And it's made almost worse b/c I KNOW what's going to happen, I'm just anticipating how they're going to do it. So overall, a great first episode of what I know will be an amazing series. I can't wait for many more to come!

Weekly Recap for 3/20-3/26: The Podcast Edition!

weekly recap 3/20-3/26 by Ashitaka's Angels

In order to change things up a little, Lea and I did the weekly recap together in this super deluxe podcast, in which we cover the series finale of Big Love and the latest episodes of Chuck, Good Wife, Modern Family, American Idol, Community, The Office, and 30 Rock.
Beware, as there is much ranting and run-on sentences. There are also some surprise shoutouts. We hope you enjoy it!

American Idol Season 10 Top 11: Motown Week = Awesomesauce

Don't look so scared, Scotty

Casey - "Heard it Through the Grapevine"
Casey's problem has always been that he growls/screams half his songs without actually singing (and never getting called out for it :/). I HATED his Nirvana performance last week. HATED. Ahem.
LOL I have no idea if that was good or not. Or if I liked it. Casey puts so much of himself into his performances you can't help but like him! He's so charismatic. Yet it was still really growly. A LOT more control in it this week compared to last week, so I'm glad. But I really want him to just sit down and sing one week. No vocal acrobatics.

Thia - "Heatwave"
OMG a fast song! A FAST SONG! Don't mess this up Thia. And she's actually smiling and showing personality. She looks way more comfortable up there, except the part where she looked to the backup singers like she forgot the words, lulz. i think this was my favorite performance of hers, buuuuut it was still a little karaoke. Who is she?! Who is she as an artist? I honestly have no idea and have absolutely no clue what kind of CD she'd make.

Jacob - "You're All I Need to Get By"
If Jacob just stood up there and danced he would be my favorite contestant. Some of the  contestants problems is that they don't really feel the song. Jacob's problem is that he feels it too much lol. Onto the performance, he's showing so much restraint and this is really great so far. I can finally appreciate how awesome his voice really is. And the faces he's pulling are amazing. AHHHHH THIS WAS THE BEST JACOB PERFORMANCE OF THE COMPETITION OMG. I LOVE HIM AGAIN. JACOOOOOB.

Lauren - "You Keep Me Hanging On"
Wow. Her voice is SO. GOOD. I kind of wish I didn't have to look at her/hear her speak because otherwise she might be one of my favorites. This is one of her best performances I think and I like how she frequently does more uptempo songs.

Stefano - "Hello"
Hey, Haven't you heard? Stefano is the new frontrunner apparently. His voice kind of sounds nasally on this song. He seems to be emotionally connecting to the song though. It was alright. Not terrible, but not groundbreaking. Kind of sleepy if i'm being honest. lol and the judges were all saying he wasn't connecting. idk, i just can't bring myself to liking him.

Haley - "You've Really Got a Hold on Me"
Haley has one of the most interesting voices left. I kind of hated her at first because I felt like she took Kendra's spot, but I've been warming up to her more and more as her unique tone has been shown off. I don't expect her long for this world, unfortunately.  Holy moley, is she all over the place lol. That was certainly interesting, but I couldn't even pay attention to her voice that much. She was just jumping all over the place and was walking down the stairs like a drunk stripper. Aaaaaand I'm the only one who didn't like that apparently. I want to like her soooo badly, but her performances just don't match her amazing voice, for me for you.

Scotty - "For Once in My Life"
SCOTTAAAAAY! Being forced to not do country, this is what i've been waiting for! THIS IS HIS TRUE TEST! This sounds exactly like all of his other performances lol. And tbh, I cannot stop laughing his voice sounds so weird on this song. His high notes are a lot better than i thought they would be. I thought it was a solid Scotty performance. But I think it maybe was a little too slow? Still, I like Scotty.

Pia - "All In Love is Fair"
Please don't bore me Pia, your voice is so good. I want to like you so badly. omg another ballad, stopp ittttt. She starts and I fall asleep. Yeah yeah, her singing is effortless and amazing, but omg she is so boring. I wouldn't be unhappy if she won. She would deserve it, but I can't imagine ever buying her CD. I like that the judges are calling her out on the constant ballads though. She better go uptempo next week.

Paul - "Tracks of My Tears"
Paul was my early favorite and while I still like him, I've been pretty disappointed in him the last 2 weeks. I still love his voice, but it just hasn't worked on the songs he's been singing. And the drunken stumbling didn't really help. So the fact that he's using a guitar again this week makes me happy because I really think he needs to do things more in his style. He made it really folksy and different and he's rocking it out. I think I liked it. I was the first drastic rearrangement of the season and I think he succeeded with it.

Naima - "Dancing in the Street"
Things are never boring with Naima at least. She's gonna dance again this performance. I like it when she does that. I like that she's different and contemporary with her style. Her voice sounds sooo much better this week than the last few. Waaaah her dancing breakdown was so fun! Drummers popped up and she just went crazy. SHE'S SO MUCH FUN I LIKE HER. Great performance.

James - "Livin for the City"
James has really surprised me. I've liked his performances waaaaay more than I ever thought I would. I'm still not a huge fan of his voice, but he's using it really really well right now. Great great song choice for him.  Ahhh he has so much control over his voice, he's doing really well. I really did like it a lot. I'm not sure if it was my favorite of his performances, but he is turning into one of the most consistent performers this season......I never thought I'd say that.

OMG THIS WAS SUCH A GOOD WEEK FOR IDOL! Perhaps the best overall week this entire season.  I have no idea who is going to go home or will be in the bottom. I still don't feel ~attached to any one contestant this season the way I did the past two, but I'm really impressed with all of them.

Best of the night: Jacob
Worst: Stefano
Bottom Three: Haley, Thia, Stefano
Going home: Haley

Uptown Downstairs Abbey Parts 1 & 2: You Read It Right!

 Yes, the second season is currently filming in the UK (huzzah!). However, as is custom with some BBC shows, it still might take eons for it to get here (boo). In the meantime, here's a little something for those in need of a Downton Abbey fix (courtesy of the BBC's Comic Relief Night 2011):






Some Highlights:
-The Narrator? Hogwart's greatest headmaster, of course!
-Yes, that is Kim Cattrall from SATC. Really.
-Daisy as a teddy bear in a maid's outfit
-'Dame Maggie Smith's' myraid grimacing expressions
-Staircase continuity seems hard on the knees
-Thomas: "Why are you so mean? I love it, but why?"
-O'Brien's hair "knitting" itself
-and many, many others.

American Idol Season 10 Top 13

YOUR TOP 13: James Durbin, Naima Adedapo, Jacob Lusk, Thia Megia, Karen Rodriguez, Stefano Langone, Lauren Alaina, Scotty McCreery, Haley Reinhart, Casey Abrams, Pia Toscano, Ashthon Jones, Paul McDonald.

As far as America's vote of a Top 10, completely predictable (and deserving) on the guys side, not so predictable on the girls. Pia, Thia, and Lauren A. all got through deservedly, but Haley and Karen should not have made it through based on their performances Wednesday.

The wildcard round actually turned out to be pretty suspenseful and made for some good TV. 3 guys (Jovany Barreto, Robbie Rosen, and Stefano Langone) and 3 girls (Naima Adedapo, Ashthon Turner, and Kendra Chantelle) sang for their lives with the judges (apparently) deciding then and there who would make the top 13. I was a little upset I couldn't have heard my beautiful curly-haired flower, Brett Lowenstern, sing one more time, but alas he was cut. Along with early favorite Tim Halperin.

Ultimately though, Stefano probably did have the best wildcard performance of the guys. However, I've always had a soft spot for Robbie and just really enjoy his voice, so I was sad that Stefano got through over Robbie. Stefano probably fits that more "traditional R&B" voice slot in the Top 13 though (and is he the new heartthrob, mayhaps?)

In my opinion however, this performance right here:



was the best wildcard performance of the night. Her high notes were insane and there's something about her tone and her control that I really really like. I can't begrudge Ashthon and Naima getting through over her however, because their wildcard performances were also very good. I'm more upset that Kendra didn't just get through over people like Karen and Haley. I think ultimately though, Ashthon was put through because she fits the "sassy diva" role. Naima got through because she's "quirky", and the judges probably thought Kendra didn't have as much personality and they already had a blonde in the Top 13.  Still, I'll never forget you Kendra!

So now it's the finals. I'm not too excited about anybody, but I do recognize that there's a lot of really great talent on this season. Around this time last year, there was a lot of badness going through to the Top 12, but I can honestly say every single person who made it is talented. A lot of them might not be to my preference which is making me less enthused, however, I think this season could give us some interesting performances.

My prediction right now to win the whole thing though: Scotty McCreery

BABYLOCKTHEMDOORS