Of course it’s difficult to sit and pray with a mourning family. Still, you see the soft tenderness of an old husband holding the hand of his lifetime bride or a family circled around their mother or father telling memories of life, hope or regrets.

Grieving is natural – a part of the circle of life. It is the band that connects people to family, community and the reality of the frailty of life. The words “from ashes to ashes” should not just be a reminder that we all eventually die, but that we should treasure those around us and love is special and impermanent.

However, the most difficult hospital rooms to walk into are the ones where no one has gathered. Where contacts were called and no one cared to come.

A few weeks ago I wrote about Danny Boy, the man barred from many places in Lakeland. A man whose incontinence kept most from getting close.

This week Danny Boy was found dead near Lake Morton.

Danny fell through the cracks of Lakeland. Not because he was invisible. Everyone downtown knew him. Danny Boy was found usually circling Kentucky and Main shuffling his feet; acting and smelling as a constant reminder of homeless issues in our community. Danny fell through the cracks because he was that reminder.

The saddest part of Danny’s death this week was not where he died. It was how he lived. Danny had been homeless, incontinent and alone in Lakeland for almost seven years.

After suffering from several strokes, Danny was left with very little mobility. He was left incontinent and unable to stay clean. After being banned from most businesses and shelters in the area, Danny was left without access to restrooms and showers. He was left without shelter. He was left alone.

His death ended his endless shuffle away from those who wanted him to move along. His death meant that Danny is finally at peace.

The tragedy of Danny’s death will come now to Lakeland. To our community, Danny was the image of God at our doorway.

“The poor will always be among us” was not a reminder that we have to always deal with those less fortunate. It was a lesson that God will constantly show His face. He looks to see if we are sharing the grace He has shown. If we are showing that face to those around us.

In a world and community like we are blessed to live in today, no one should die lost, forgotten and alone.

Last week Danny died — lost, forgotten and alone. With Danny died one opportunity to respond to God’s love.

What other faces of God are shuffling around us? How are we going to do better when we meet them?

photo credit: Zero1o1

Note: Due to a production error, this column originally misidentified the columnist as Chuck Welch. Chris Craig is correct.

Though most police, non-profits and churches know him, Danny never asks anyone for anything. Danny cannot get a job because of his broken English and has incontinence from his numerous strokes. He doesn’t have medical insurance so hospitals treat him but will not hold him. After his last stroke, they tended to him for a week and then had a taxi drop him off on Kentucky Boulevard, barely able to stand or walk.

Danny has to keep moving though; he doesn’t want to stop anywhere too long down town, because of the smell of his clothing, even after it is washed. Because of his many strokes Danny has a very difficult time walking or really even expressing his needs. He cannot hold his bowels and he is trespassed from any restaurant restroom. His potent smell has him formally trespassed from almost every business and even a couple of church properties in Lakeland. Even the local non-profits are only willing to wash his clothes and deliver food trays to him outside.

If you were to ask Danny, he will tell you that since he has been here almost 12 years Lakeland is his home. He has no living relatives, so he has no other place he could go for peace. Danny is unfortunately a good example of Lakeland’s chronic homeless who have fallen through all the social service cracks.

He does not have enough mental illness to be Baker Acted. He’s not a veteran, so he doesn’t have any special medical or housing benefits. He would not be eligible for public housing. After being trespassed and arrested, he has several misdemeanors which would deny him housing benefits. If you run into him on the street or in the park, you might think that he is lost or confused because he seems to never just sit or stand in one place.

Because of all these many factors, Danny sleeps out of sight in the midst of high weeds in either the “Asian Jungle” on 92 or sheltered behind brush near the overpass and railroad tracks on the west side of town.

I share Danny’s description and plight with you for two reasons. First, because he is an example of someone who would be seriously affected by the “Camping Ordinance” Lakeland is trying to put in effect in September. An ordinance which would make Danny’s type of homelessness a crime.

Second, because I cannot think of a better example of Christ’s presence in our community. It is pleasant to think of Jesus as a robed, Caucasian hippy with long hair, bright teeth and a firm handshake. It is convenient to pray to a God at Church or Synagogue who looks like you do, one that may smell like sweet incense which a cantor spreads throughout a Mass or cooked turkey at a Thanksgiving meal. But this is not how God has said he will look, act or smell when he comes to our doors.

2All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34″Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37″Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40″The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ (Matt 25:32-40)

In your meditations and prayers this week, I would like you to consider what we in Lakeland are saying to God at our doors, with a blanket “Camping Ordinance?” And one step further than that question, looking at the scripture above, would we be the sheep or goats, the wheat or the chaff?

–

photo illustration credit: Edward Allen L. Lim

I suppose this would make sense if we really are to think of a government official as a representative of the community they serve. However isn’t there an implicit agreement that our elected officials will collect information and act in good faith as a voice for the voiceless? I’m not sure if voting for constituents equates to voting for the best interests of a community.

Is not acting a certain way just for the support of the popular a little like handing out candy to the captains of the dodge ball team so you don’t get picked last? Now that I think of it, I do remember distantly throwing a pizza party my sophomore year of high school to convince the students in my class that I would be the best voice for their SADD president.

I remember thinking I was so smart when I realized that the community activist kids in my classes cared far more about the pizza than my heartfelt concern about Students Against Drunk Driving. All of this seems very funny and simple now, but I wonder how many of our local, state and federal elected officials learned these lessons when they were young?

To be fair about what expectations we have set up for our elected officials, the question could be asked: is my expectation in voting for someone that they will have the best interests of the community in mind, or my best interest in mind? Do we expect our officials to faithfully seek out what is loving and right for our communities? Do we have an expectation that they will be a clear voice for those with no voice or do we elect people who we believe will carry out our own agendas and needs?

Many years after my SADD election realization about how to win votes and influence people by doing what they want, I found myself sitting in a college class on ethics where the question was posed, “Do you feed the hungry because they are hungry or because God told you to?” That is an interesting question which we may need to be asking our elected officials. Are they people who say the right thing because it is true, right and fair or because they know what it is we want to hear?

This week, as you listen to your president or consider the actions of your governor and mayor, stop and ask yourself the question: who’s best interests are they acting in and what are they doing which is just right? The question of what your expectations are for your elected officials is certainly a question to meditate and prayerful consider this week.

photo credit: TheVerve

Maybe one of the best examples was the struggle between loving one’s neighbor could be characterized by the German Lutheran theologian and writer Dietrich Bonheoffer’s notion of “Large Heartedness”. Just when World War II was going through its ascendancy stage, German Lutheran Pastor Bonheoffer took exile in New York City’s Union Seminary in Harlem. There he attended an African American congregation struggling with civil rights issues. In the heat of being part of such a radical fight for liberation, Bonheoffer was called in a deep way to unite with his neighbor through “Large Heartedness,” for he was struggling with what it really meant for a community to strive to love his neighbors as self in the midst of persecution. People say that it was through the lesson that Bonheoffer learned in Harlem that he was able to established the courage to return to his home congregation in Germany and publicly speak out against Hitler. A decision, I would like to mention, which lead to his execution.

I think what lead to this week’s observance and study of the religious calling to relationship with neighbor, is because I have realized as of late that I really do not know my neighbors. As a child I was a bit of a TV kid who kept to myself and really did not bond with neighborhood children. In college I knew my dorm or campus mates but only really in a superficial way. Though I have attended, even assisted and taught in churches most of my life, I have kept a safe distance, not wanting to share too much personal information. Church in many ways has felt like work to me. I’m not sure if you can relate to this feeling, but sometimes I think church relationships can be some of the most masked relationships with one’s neighbor that people have. And even though I know how important it is to share the intimacy of Christ’s love with a loving community and Church. Some of the most important gifts of foundation and discernment come through a truthful vulnerability which is meant to unite one another in community.

Kristin Tippett in her book Speaking of Faith points out “The context of most religious virtue is relationship — practical love in families and communities, and care for the suffering and the stranger beyond the bounds of one’s own identity.” (p.3)

What I have come to realize is just how little I know about what the “friends” or neighbors who sit next to me in cafés, bars or even church, do. This last week I got a photo head shot done by a “friend” I sit next to and joke with at least three of four times a week in town. It turned out my “friend” Mookie is really Michael Wilson, an award winning photographer for the Ledger. In the same way my pal Rob who I see around town for coffee and conversation several times a week is really Dr. Tate who is the Vice President at Florida Southern University. Now in all honesty these are just two interesting examples of neighbors who I knew what they do, but up to recently have never really gotten to know the implication of what they do and who they are.

I believe one of the key issues which our society’s religious communities are not really addressing is people’s lack of knowledge about who their neighbor is. How are we supposed to be our brothers keeper or Love our neighbor as ourselves if so much of our religious life and spirituality is wrapped up in a our own heads and our personal relationship with our maker.

This week, in the midst of your prayers and mediations, I commend to you the person sitting in the café, bar, workplace and church sitting across from you –the one next to you. And leave you with the question, “How well do you know your neighbor?”

photo credit: Tom Hagerty for Metro I4 News

Before departing Florida, I had the great honor of interviewing the boys from Magnificent Applesauce (“MagSauce” as they call themselves). It has been quite awhile since I wrote last, but this posting is special since I got to record my first podcast with three of the four members in the band.

Chad Kostella, guitar/lead vocals; Riz Blanton, drums/percussion; and Jason Sims, lead guitar/vocals, took some time out of their schedules to update everyone with what is happening in their world. Leo Sauvinon-Mota, bass/vocals, was sick and did not make the interview.

LAKELAND, Fla. – Far from being a garage band, the members in MagSauce are doing everything in their power to share their original music, represent Lakeland’s music scene and inspire other original musicians to take their own craft to a higher level.

What began as a side project thought over eight years ago has become one of the most original sounds in today’s local music scene.

“The idea began in 2002, but nothing seriously until 2008,” Kostella said, who also added that “boredom” made him want to pursue music again.

“Being out of it for so long, I got the itch,” Sims added, “It was a long time since we played in our other band, and we had the opportunity over again. Take music more seriously.” And they did.

MagSauce has been playing regularly for the past six months in Lakeland, Tampa and, most recently, Orlando. Even landing a third place tie in 97X’s Memorial Day Backyard BBQ online competition. The main reason they have been playing so much again is to fund their self produced album, which will be released later this year or early 2011, “We are going to finish a 5 – 6 song EP,” Kostella said.

Two songs, “Fight Night” and “A Song,” are their leading singles from the album and can be heard in the podcast below.

“We picked them quickly,” Kostella said. “We had ten songs to choose from, but these address what we are doing. ‘A Song’ is an up-beat song; ‘Fight Night’ is more musical.”

RE-GROWTH

“Lakeland is in a re-growth right now,” Blanton said. “We’re in a hotspot. “We got Tampa, Orlando; we are smack in the middle.” And this “hotspot” has been good to them, too. “It’s a great spot and we love Lakeland a lot,” Sims added.

Location is an important factor, but the boys were grateful with the work being done by a couple of local promoters.

“TJ kind of started it all,” Kostella said. “Gave it a spark to where we are now. He has a good equation and a good formula.” “TJ” is TJ Alcock, owner of Central Florida Entertainment, Booking and Promotional Marketing.

During the interview, Blanton stressed the help and hard work from Polk Theatre. The venue, with the help of Sarah Conness, features special local shows under the name “Underground at the Polk.”

Sims added the venue needs local support to continue, “We definitely have to keep the Polk Theatre alive.”

To find out more about Alcock’s projects and Underground at the Polk, find them on Facebook by searching EntertainingFl and Underground at the Polk.

WORD OF WISDOM

Kostella, Blanton, Sims and Savinon-Mota were all members of the popular band As You Wish, and they all had the opportunity of touring across the U.S. several years ago.

“It’s a new way of life,” Blanton said. “We went out there, did it, played everywhere.” Touring the U.S. and playing rock star might sound exciting, but not everything was perfect on the road.

“On a very serious note, no matter what you do, these are your brothers or your sisters, if there are females in your group,” Sims said, “If you mess up on a part or played the wrong note, get over yourself. It’s not an ego thing, keep creating.”

And speaking about creating, Kostella and Blanton had some pointers for younger artists trying to break into the music scene.

“It’s starts with an idea,” Blanton said, “Get your buddies together and start writing.” Kostella added, “never feel satisfed with your song. Record bits and pieces, put them together, work past your creativity.”

And to get shows around town?

“Get a halfway decent recording. Video tape yourself. Do all the promo you can,” Kostella said.

Anyone interested in seeing MagSauce live can catch then this Thursday, July 8 at Hurricane Alley in Downtown Lakeland.

These guys are a phenomenally creative group, and I can proudly say that for years they have been an important source of inspiration. Even giving me the first shows I ever played in the (863).

To learn more about MagSauce, visit their site http://www.magsauce.com or simply search MagSauce on your favorite online search engine or social media network.

Note: Since this was my first recording, there are some unfortunate sound glitches, but it is a fun interview. And the song recordings are 100 percent perfect. Enjoy.

MagSauce_Podcast_1_Final by 48StatesAway


photo credit: Courtesy of MagSauce for Metro I4 News

The way I remember the exercise happening came out in the fact that I had been sweating profusely with a long sleeved shirt on. And at some point, without really thinking about it, I rolled up my sleeves to make a point. At that point it was not more than a couple of minutes before I could hear the little whispers about my tattoos which were now showing near my wrists. I’m not sure if it was the Holy Spirit or just a creative flash, but at that moment I put down the script of my speech and handed out white paper, crayons and markers out to all the tables. I asked each person to draw a picture or write one praise which could depict either their personality or a favorite moment –something that summed up who they are and who they have been.

When all the tables had time to share their pictures or phrases within their small groups I pulled everyone together and rolled my shirt sleeves the rest of the way up. After listening to each group present some of the stories, praises and pictures they shared, I asked them if any of them could imagine having to pick one of their life pictures or phrases to place on their body for the rest of their lives. With my sleeves rolled up I then shared the stories behind each of my tattoos. I told these grandmothers and grandfathers if they wanted to really hear the stories of their grandchildren and children’s lives, you should ask them to tell the stories of their tattoos.

I explained to the group that the youth and young adults in their church are living in a generation that shares their stories, their wounds, memories, joys and fears on their bodies. I explained to them that the easy way out was to look at the youth — with their pants hanging down, their lip rings and tattoos and assume that they are either ignorant, apathetic or worthless. I also assured them that as easy as it is for them to dismiss their children, it is just as easy for their children to dismiss them as –out of touch, unimaginative and stuck in the muds.

I think the message in our churches needs to be that the youth are just as much the church of today as tomorrow and the seniors of the church are just as relevant to the church today as they have been in the past. We are all the church of today –when we live mindfully in the moment with Christ!

This great tattoo moment jumped into my mind this week because of the article I read by Chuck Colson of The Christian Post. In the article Mr. Colson offers a strict warning to Christians who would consider getting Christ centered tattoos:

“Some believers argue that there’s nothing wrong with a Christian-themed tattoo, like the cross. And Christians who get them do so out of love of Christ. But believers ought to ask themselves which sort of mark God would prefer. Tattoos last a lifetime-unless they are painfully removed. But the spiritual marks of a Christian last through all eternity…many Christians reject tattoos…understanding of the higher and the lower, the superior and the inferior…[keeps] Christians from emulating what remains for that reason a pagan practice.”

I must confess to Mr. Colson that he is quite right, I am a Christian with a full sleeve of Christian tattoos and there are many times I wish I could just share the grace and peace of Jesus with just my verbal words because being a verbal Christian is so much easier then wearing the gospel message of hope on your physical heart and body. As a verbal Christian you have the opportunity to hide what you stand for so that you don’t offend certain audiences. I do have to confess to Mr. Colson and so many Pharasees like him, that sometimes when I am feeling weak I wish people could not look at my body and know that I am a Christian. See, when someone makes the faith leap to move deeper in their faith from just talking about God and moves to writing or drawing God’s word on their bodies and hearts to share and teach of God’s love for all humankind in the world— it is not a judgment. It simply means that some people are at a different place in their faith journey.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you today shall be written on your heart(TATTOOED!); you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” (Deuteronomy 6:5-7)

In a past column I shared a particularly sobering moment when I was at a bar in Ybor City relaxing with friends. Totally out of the blue and certainly not from anything I had said a man seeing rushed over to me. Seeing the Serenity Prayer tattooed on my arm he stated that had been sober and in AA for quite sometime. Seeing the Serenity Prayer on my arm seemed like a reminder from God that that bar was not where he needed to be. I cannot tell you how many times a month I have experienced God using my tattoos to start a conversation with people about their faith walks. It is like wearing an invitation to talk about God where ever you go! Thus as I stated before, I must confess my life as a Christian would be so much easier if I was not called to acknowledge God’s love and allow Him to direct my path.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:3-6)

Now Mr. Colson do not worry, I am not saying you cannot or should not be a Christian without tattoos! Just as Paul shared with Gentiles that they did not have to be circumcised to receive Christ as the early Jewish Christians believed new converts should have to do.

It used to be that Christians could just follow blind laws such as Leviticus 19:28 “Do not… or put tattoo marks on yourselves.” Once again it is much easier for Christians to pick and choose from
Talmudic literature and decide what pieces of the law they want to judge people on and which ones they do not. Any Rabbi would tell you that the book of Leviticus needs to be interpreted within the historical context in which it was written. The Levital laws were health codes and moral codes which were laid out to build separation between the Pagans and chosen Jewish community which was to inhabit their holy land. If you are not Jewish and are reading this, I want to point out that these laws were set up to separate Jews from Pagans. If you are not Jewish, you would have been a pagan!

But I hear you saying, “But Christ changed all of that. Through the resurrection we are all saved–Jew and Gentile alike!” Well then why are you still clinging to old laws, laws that you have been told clearly you are no longer a slave from. Read these Levital laws and think for a moment what other pieces of these laws have fundamentalists abandoned because they would judge them rather than the people they feel should be judged?

‘When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. [a] For three years you are to consider it forbidden [b] ; it must not be eaten.
24 In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the LORD.
25 But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the LORD your God.
26 ” ‘Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it.
” ‘Do not practice divination or sorcery.
27 ” ‘Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.
28 ” ‘Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.
29 ” ‘Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness.
30 ” ‘Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19)

I promise to all of you reading this, I am not trying to judge anyone for or for not having tattoos. What I am saying is that we are called to share our faith and our beliefs with our whole bodies, hearts and minds.

photo credit: Chris Craig for Metro I4 News

It’s important to put the veto in perspective. As The Ledger pointed out, 25% of the Governor’s vetoes this year fell in Polk County. Last time I checked there are 67 counties in Florida. Sound equitable to you? Of course not, which further illustrates that this veto has nothing to do with education policy, spending policy, fiscal restraint, or budgetary prioritization. It has everything to do with the politics surrounding a fledgling administration mired in contradiction and unpredictability.

I frankly don’t plan to venture here into the political workings of a US Senate campaign and how they translate into the folly of inconsistency that has become the Administration. But suffice it to say, it’s mind boggling. Check out this press release which the Governor issued on June 11, 2008 marking his enthusiastic support of the campus name change and the critical first round of construction funding. To quote him, “I look forward to the great work…from this promising institution.” Huh?

That press release came the year after the very first Charlie Crist veto of construction dollars for USF Polytechnic. He issued that release and the region breathed a collective sigh of relief. We had convinced him. He endorsed us – and endorsed us publicly. What ensued were two solid years of construction funding with the Governor’s seal of approval.

If you have found yourself reading along just fine up until now, yes, you might have just stumbled on a mental speed bump of sorts. But what I’m telling you is correct. This Governor has now vetoed and signed construction dollars for the same project twice. I couldn’t make something this outrageous up. This is the inconsistency this region and decision-makers across the state are wrangling with. How do you do business with an administration that exhibits this type of irrationality? The truth is, you can’t. And you shouldn’t.

USFP’s chief Marshall Goodman on Thursday issued a candid statement to supporters reiterating the region’s commitment to the campus master plan, to the bold vision that USFP offers and to continuing the important fight to bring first rate economic advancement to Polk.

I congratulate him as well for reminding folks that while the vision of vertical construction on the Williams site has suffered a temporary setback of sorts, the mission remains strong and the delivery of the highest quality education by world class professionals flourishes. You see, the Governor left in tact the operating fund increases contained in the state’s budget. So, onward we march. You will see expansion of the high-tech business incubator efforts throughout the region, the hiring of some of the most qualified faculty ever assembled and the continuation of a mission that has been endorsed so enthusiastically by a loving community and a committed region.

And come January, the inconsistency that has become the Crist Administration will fade from power. Advocates, citizens and leaders will engage and we’ll succeed. The campus will be built. The Polytechnic vision will thrive and the region will claim victory because we remained fervently committed to bold vision and economic transformation.

photo credit: Tom Hagerty for Metro I4 News

This week’s piece came out of a moment of frustration at work. I was assisting a middle-aged Hispanic woman in the rent and utilities assistance part of the non-profit I work for. The frustration was in her broken English and my lack of any knowledge of Spanish. I want to point out that my initial thought was frustration at her with her broken English. But that frustration was countered very quickly by a spiritual truth which reminded me that the real problem was my lack of any knowledge of Spanish.

It is not only we as Americans, but also we as religious or spiritual people, who often fall into the trap of believing if someone wants our help, they’d better be willing to hear our message in the language WE speak. The Catholic Church from almost their existence allowed their Masses to be delivered only in Latin. Jewish Temples still do all their reading from the Torah in Hebrew. And how many Protestant Churches do you know which simply assume a biblical understanding and a sense of theological terminology to be an active part of their congregations?

I often personally struggle to interpret for the homeless and for others seeking aid the language of social service. The rules and specifications around funding and grants are so specific these days that unless you know the right words and criteria, the social services will bog you down with such red tape that it takes months or years to receive the assistance one needs today. As anyone who has ever applied for disability, each and everyone of them will tell you a horror story about the number of times their case was denied before all the paperwork and court dates aligned to receive the help they so desperately needed.

I must tell you that it is wonderful when you meet a person you just click with, someone you speak the same language with, someone who gets you and feels heard and ministered to by you. However, I must confess those times are very rare. The Holy Spirit almost always calls us to leave what we know and enter into the language, culture and realities of other’s lives.

In the church calendar, the first festival is the Feast of the Unleavened Bread. The second is the Feast of Weeks which is now coined “Pentecost”. And the third is called the Feast of Tabernacles. In essence these feasts are a commemoration of when God by entering the brokenness of his people, offered them freedom from their captivity and gave them the promised land. If you want to do more reading about these festivals I commend to you Leviticus 23:15, 16.

Many Christians view Pentecost as the birthday of the Church. It is the day when the Disciples joined the Passover celebration of Shavuot where all the nations of Israel were gathered and with the image of fire tongues on their heads, began to speak and hear in all the languages that were present.

When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” (Acts 2:1-11)

What I want to point out here is that the Church is said to have been born when, one, the Jewish community had come together to celebrate their freedom in a new land; and two, when the Disciples of Jesus began to speak in the language and dialect of the audience to whom they were speaking. Their calling was not to wait and share good news with only people who knew their language and culture. They were called to enter into the lives and language of those they encountered.

We as a society can be that church or temple for those who are not like us, those who are lost and vulnerable who may or may not speak our language. Instead of becoming a community, country or church which seeks to racially profile and weed out those who are unlike us, we could join together in love building bridges rather than walls in our world.

Once convinced by the Holy Spirit that the Spanish I did not speak was my problem and not the woman I was trying to speak to, the afternoon took a shift. A co-worker and friend of mine, Jose, joined me in the conversation with the Hispanic woman. Every word I said, he shared in Spanish, and when she spoke he interpreted it in English. Together we shared the language not just of social service, but also with the image of fire over our heads celebrated a Pentecost and a Shavuot at the same time.

A church or temple is not the individuals that make it up, but the combined forces, gifts and love they have to share as one. I am not going to be able to speak every language, but by rejoicing in my community I can build bridges and alliances which will interpret the messages of hope which I feel called to share.

This week I would like you to meditate on what gifts and messages you have been called to share. And what audiences with the help of your community of faith could you join with to deliver that message? The Holy Land was called the Holy Land because God entered into people’s lives. We as a U.S. society need to stop thinking so much about building barriers to foster separateness and think more about ways to enter in and speak words of hope to all of God’s children.

photo credit: swanksalot

8:59 PM
Chuck: I made it
9:00 PM
Lorrie: Barely.

Chuck: Now we get to see all the home celebrations.

Just think…if Aaron had made it we could have traveled to Davenport!
9:01 PM
Lorrie: And blogged live from there!

Chuck: Ok, don’t push it

Lorrie: Welcome to American Idol’s Top 3 Results Show…also known as “Casey Goes Home.”
9:02 PM
Chuck: Maybe, just maybe, all the hype for Lee was the AI effort to get a backlash vote against him?

Lorrie: Say it ain’t so. OMG. Justin Beiber is on the show? I may not make it through the hour.
9:03 PM
Chuck: Hey, I heard 3000 3rd graders sing along with his song….you can handle 3 minutes with the volume down.
9:04 PM
Lorrie: oh all right…
9:06 PM
Casey’s hair looks stupid. He almost has a bun.
9:07 PM
Chuck: Readers…we’re suffering through 45 minutes of Ryan boring us by asking the contestants boring questions…
9:08 PM
Crystal finally talks about her diabetes…and how AI is giving her better care than she had at home

Lorrie: You’re suffering…I’m working on a press release for a client. I’ll see you at 9:50 p.m.
9:09 PM
Chuck: I bet the client is an orthodontist

Lorrie: Holy cow…how did you KNOW that?!

Chuck: Your laptop camera is on.
9:11 PM
Lorrie: BRB…I better go put on some pants.
9:12 PM
Chuck: I have absolutely no comment.
9:18 PM
Chuck: We’re watching the Casey James homecoming…they all work the same….person goes back to home town and is surprised how many people show up to cheer….plays a song…and 12 year-old girls scream…
9:19 PM
Lorrie: I predict that if Casey were to win- which he won’t- his success would mirror that of Taylor Hicks’. Flash in the pan, followed by a healthy bar-tour career. It’s better that he goes home tonight, 12-year-old girls, trust me.
9:24 PM
Chuck: Perez Hilton is now on AI. I’m leaving.
9:25 PM
Lorrie: I wasn’t paying attention, so thankfully, I missed Perez Hilton. I also missed hearing who this singing turd is. WHo is it?
9:26 PM
Chuck: Perez Hilton’s “discovery”

Lorrie: are you *hit*ing me?

Chuck: Hey….language young lady!
9:27 PM
Lorrie: I’ll wash my mouth out with soap later. Are those the people from Stomp! in the background?

Chuck: The Des Moines Touring Company
9:28 PM
Lorrie: I will go ahead and put this out there: I’ll be glad when this season is over next week. I’ve been subjected to more crappy pop music this season than I signed on for.
9:29 PM
Chuck: If….and this is a HUGE if…I ever watch AI again….we do not…do not….watch the results show live.
9:32 PM
Lorrie: Good idea
9:33 PM
Chuck: Now we get to watch Crystal go back to Ohio….she’s landing in Toledo…where they roll up the sidewalks precisely at 10

well, Crystal’s biggest fan is a screaming 20 yearold male
9:34 PM
The Mayor of Toledo looks like a weekend Harley biker.
9:36 PM
Crystal threw out the first pitch at a Mud hens game…and threw pretty well
9:37 PM
Lorrie: I’m bored.
9:38 PM
Chuck: Lee threw out the 1st pitch at a Cubs game….giving Crystal the win in that competition.

Lorrie: Still, I’m bored.
9:41 PM
where did all those people get the memo to make Lee’s shirts and signs in lime green? Now THAT’S branding.
9:46 PM
Chuck: Huh? I fell asleep when they went to Wrigley Field. It’s a common ailment in Chicago.

Lorrie: Now we know where Tim Urban got his hairstyle.
9:48 PM
Chuck: So, the Bowery Boys are his backup dancers?
9:49 PM
Lorrie: Children, please go to your preferred search engine and look up Bowery Boys.
9:50 PM
Chuck: Listen you whippersnapper! they were the bee’s knees back in the day.
9:51 PM
Lorrie: Are you auditioning for a Geico commercial?

Chuck: I am seriously watching a commercial that speaks about a bra you can wear 7 ways and I am completely waiting for the punch line.

And it never came….
9:53 PM
Lorrie: Huh? Wha? I nodded off again.
9:54 PM
Chuck: Finally…they start telling us what happened last night….since we’ve all fallen asleep for the last 53 minutes
9:55 PM
1st in next week’s finally….Lee

That means Casey is gone

Lorrie: definitely

Chuck: They give Lee the 1st one in to make you think he had the most votes…

Crystal asks “Am I safe?”
9:56 PM
Lorrie: Buh Bye, Casey.

Chuck: when Ryan says she is joining Lee

Well, you get to hear Casey ruin “Daughters” again.

I’m out.
9:57 PM
Lorrie: Bye!

photo credit: RageZ

Chuck: Hello
7:59 PM
Finally, the final three: Lilly, Siobhan and Crystal

Lorrie: what up? Casey gets voted off tonight. Just thought I’d throw that out there…not that it’s earth-shattering, surprising news, mind you
8:00 PM
Chuck: Casey? who’s that

Lorrie: He’s not the next American Idol, that’s who.
8:01 PM
Chuck: Lilly!!!
8:02 PM
Siobhan!!!

Each contestant sings two songs….
8:03 PM
One chosen by the contestant and one by the judges

Casey picked some country song no one has head of…

Lorrie: Losers go first…Casey, please take the stage.

Losers, even

Chuck: heard even
8:04 PM
“OK, it’s alright with me”

More like, “OK, this song sucks.”

Lorrie: More like, “OK, I’m not gonna win this thang, so why bother?”
8:05 PM
Chuck: Reader…in case you’re wondering…your daughter has decided Casey is leaving tomorrow night.

Randy is setting him up for “That sucked.”

8:06 PM
Lorrie: Ellen is saying Casey should have “brought it.” He’s NOT GOING TO WIN. He knows that.
8:07 PM
Chuck: Simon is wrong…salad leaves a lasting effect for some people.

Yes, we’re talking about food. No one wants to talk about that song.

Lorrie: Casey is pretty to look at, but did I mention that he’s NOT GOING TO WIN?
8:09 PM
Chuck: The Ford commercial…sans AI contestants, was pretty good.
8:11 PM
Crystal is doing a Bob Dylan song?

Comne to My Window by Melissa Etheridge
8:12 PM
She’s trying to back it off a bit in the opening
8:13 PM
Lorrie: Did you know that Crystal has congenitally missing cuspids?

Chuck: Did you know that she had them removed to improve her diction?

Lorrie: LOL
8:14 PM
Gentle Readers, this portion of the MI4 American Idol blog is presented to you tonight by Dr. Keith Hilliard, Lakeland .orthodonist
8:15 PM
Chuck: You can look for the expose of Dr. Hilliard’s practice next week on Lakeland Local.

Lorrie: LOL

Hey, let’s talk about AI. I’m not wowed by Crystal’s performance.
8:16 PM
Chuck: I think they’re all hanging back for the 1st song

Lorrie: apparently

Chuck: It’s like a bicycle race…no one wants to be in the lead for this race.
8:19 PM
Those wondering … I’m not sure what happened to Lorrie this week. I hope she’ll join us before the end of the show. She’s already missed Lilly’s stirring rendition of Subterranean Homesick Blues.
8:20 PM
Lorrie: It’s that a book by Jack Kerouac?

Is?
8:21 PM
Chuck: Jack “I was a sponge on my friends and wrote a best-selling novel about it and probably didn’t give them a penny out of it” Kerouac?

Lorrie: That’s the one.

Chuck: Never heard of him.

Lorrie: Oh, you should check him out. He’s not even overrated.
8:22 PM
Chuck: He wrote the novel that some nut carried while doing some nutty thing. Right?

Lorrie: Yeah.

Lee sings Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd

Chuck: Simple Man? Lee, play that dead band’s song.

Lorrie: already, he’s good.

Lee’s gonna win American Idol.
8:23 PM
Chuck: Yeah, if you can get the girls in the front section to clap….you’re a rock star.

Besides, didn’t Lee win a couple of years ago?
8:24 PM
Lorrie: what happens if you can get them to wave their arms?

Chuck: Seasick?

Randy likes it.

Lorrie: No, Chuck goes postal

Chuck: Jeez, could Randy push it any harder?
8:25 PM
Lorrie: word.

they want Lee to win.

He’s got more commercial potential

Chuck: This is the same script as last year. Push one all year and then claim the “dark horse” comes from behind to win.

Lorrie: Yes. It’s called the AI recipe.
8:26 PM
Chuck: He’s saying the same thing Crystal said when she gave her reasons why she picked a song….and yet Lee is considered a genious.
8:27 PM
Lorrie: During the break, Ryan will pass out more glasses of the AI Kool-Aid
8:28 PM
Chuck: Readers… you may not know this, but “drinking the Kool-Aid” is based on a horrible tragedy….Jonestown. Youngsters, look it up. But get permission from your parents.

And…..

a little bit of trivia…they didn’t actually drink “Kool-Aid”

It was an off-brand.
8:29 PM
Lorrie: Thank you, Mr. Wikipedia. As helpful as always.

Chuck: Bing!

Lorrie: LOL
8:32 PM
Chuck: Casey is singing “Daughters”

Oh god.

Lorrie: He was in front of an AT&T store in a strip mall? Where’s the parade? The key to the city? Texas Casey James Day?
8:33 PM
Chuck: Kara told Casey his audience is “women and girls” and Ellen made a great face. “Not this woman.”

That’s tomorrow

He took a decent song and made it boring.
8:34 PM
Lorrie: This, audience, is what is referred to as the final nail in the coffin.

…the straw that broke the camel’s back…

…he just screwed the pooch..

Chuck: the song that Casey sang?

Lorrie: his version of it.
8:35 PM
Chuck: I was riffing off your 1st two.

Going in the same vein…

God, Randy liked it.

He can’t complain about a song he picked.

Lorrie: Did you see that look on his face just now? That was his “yep, I’m screwed” look.
8:36 PM
Chuck: Simon is trying not to laugh in Kara’s face
8:38 PM
Why does Randy & Kara have to collaborate and Simon & Ellen get a pick each?

do
8:39 PM
Lorrie: I have no idea!
8:42 PM
Chuck: Maybe, I’m Amazed by McCartney & Wings
8:43 PM
picked by Ellen for Crystal

Already best of the night.

after one line
8:44 PM
Sounds better than Sir paul

or the guy who took his place in ’68
8:45 PM
Crystal gets a standing ovation.

Lorrie: That really was awesome

Chuck: and Randy gets to say “In it to win it.”
8:46 PM
Lorrie: Let’s call Simon Capt. Obvious for saying Crystal would be in the final.
8:48 PM
Chuck: I am getting a note that “Lorrie did not receive your chat”

I am not surprised.
8:49 PM
Lorrie: what happened?

Chuck: I think she is watching another channel and just tyoing random comments

oh

there she is

Lorrie: Dude, I’ve been here.

Chuck: Lorrie, I think you missed Siobhan singing “Jackie wilson Said”
8:50 PM
Lorrie: Is that Woodrow’s Wife?
8:51 PM
Chuck: Van Morrison song. Kind of like Lynyrd Skynyrd, but with talent, lyrical skill, and the ability to properly pronounce words.

Lorrie: and avoid planes that crash

Chuck: Lee sings “Hallalujah” “Hellelujah” “Hallelujah”
8:52 PM
ok

Lorrie….

a little help here….

it’s got to be easier than dentist

Lorrie: but not orthodontist

lol

Chuck: There is a secret chord Lee…and you just missed it.

8:53 PM
seriously? They added a gospel chorus as background for Lee?

Lorrie: They got him a pack of backup singers. That means they want him to win

Chuck: And the director pulled out all the stops
8:54 PM
Lorrie: Lee just looked like he was oxygen deprived toward the end.

Chuck: Jason castro sang the song better

Lorrie: ewww…you just typed Jason Castro.
8:55 PM
Chuck: Jason Castro sang it better

better

Castro

much better

Jason castro

there

Lorrie: ick! Stop it.
8:56 PM
Chuck: I swear you could a make a drinking game out of Kara saying “You are what this show is all about.”

Lorrie: There’s Kara’s dark horse reference…he was in one place at the beginning of the season and another at the end…yadda yadda
8:57 PM
call me weird…but sometimes Lee reminds me of Bobcat Goldwaite (sp?) sans the screeching, the way he struggles for words.

words seem painful to Lee.
8:58 PM
Chuck: Youngsters…you can find info on Bobcat Goldwithe on Bing…do not confuse him with the Charlotte Bobcats.
8:59 PM
Lorrie: bobcat goldthwait. Bing it!

Chuck: Ryan is being told to stretch it

Lorrie: Ladies and Gentleman, this final portion of the MI$ AI blog was presented tonight by Bing!
9:00 PM
MI4, that is.

OK, I’m outtie. See you tomorrow.

Chuck: Later

photo credit: gato-gato-gato

But the convention is a big deal for the region – I’m even comfortable arguing that it’s bigger than the Super Bowl. And my argument here has not really as much to do with specific economic gain for the region as it does perception and display for the region, if we handle it well. Because of the 24 hour national and cable news cycle, the host city – and its region – are truly on display for an entire week. In recent history, the conventions kick off the race to the Presidential election’s finish line. It’s when the electorate really begins to tune in and pay attention. And arguably, this time around, all eyes will be on the Republicans since we‘ll have the challenger in the race. So, as America wakes up to pay attention to politics at the highest level in our land, what will they see as they switch on Tampa Bay in High Def?

I hope they see a truly high-tech corridor. I hope we show off higher education. I hope they see transportation infrastructure. I hope our airports are on their best behavior. I hope Ybor City shows off Tampa’s Hispanic heritage. I know St. Pete/Pinellas will show the world the charm of the Suncoast. I hope that Plant City, Eastern Hillsborough/Polk show off our agricultural roots and transforming economies. I hope the Florida Southern visitor’s center is packed with patrons. I hope the high tech students at USF Poly ensure our convention values state of the art innovation and technology. I hope the political science students at USF St. Pete and the main campus play a significant role, as Dr. Susan McManus makes a semester’s worth of impact. I hope the side trips to Disney, coincide with side trips to Legoland. And I trust that the entire I-4 corridor will claim this event as their own.

If I learned one thing from my experience in Minneapolis, distance isn’t a factor. I stayed as far away as you could from the convention center (not by choice), but that didn’t matter. The events surrounding the main event were held all over the twin cities and we found ourselves shuttling back and forth and throughout the region as we visited the different venues. All that to say that convention visitors in 2012 will literally inundate the entire Bay Area region. If our region treats them warmly and welcomes the intense international spotlight, it will make all the difference in the world. I truly hope that as we send the GOP nominee off to the races, we show the visitors and viewers around the globe why we truly are the world’s leading super-region. The Region’s Convention – what a chance to shine!

photo credit: ShootsNikon

Lorrie: 37 million votes came in last night, and not one of them was from me. I haven’t voted all season.
9:03 PM
‘Tasia is performing tonight.
9:04 PM
Chuck: You can’t call it singing.

Lorrie: Yeah…notice I didn’t make that mistake. Did you know that Fantasia received orthodontic treatment after American Idol?

Chuck: Seriously?
9:05 PM
I want 10% of whatever you’re being paid.

Lorrie: I hate talking during a song.
9:06 PM
Chuck: She thinks she’s Diana Ross.

Lorrie: Unless it’s CDB singing/speaking Devil Went Down To Georgia.

Chuck: CDB didn’t have a decent song after Uneasy Rider.
9:07 PM
They peaked with the 1st hit.

Lorrie: Yes they did. Hush it!

Yes they did have a decent song after that, that is.

Chuck: “I’m a soul singer.”
9:08 PM
Lorrie: You don’t look like a soul singer.

Chuck: Yeah, brown-eyed soul.

Wait

That doesn’t sound right.
9:09 PM
Let me search the phrase.

P. Diddy and Russel Brand

Oh, that’ll be a hit.
9:10 PM
Lorrie: OK, get back to me when you figure out what you want to say.

Chuck: Well, my eyes aren’t blue enough for blue-eyed soul. Otherwise, you’d call me Daryl Welch…or Chuck Oates or something
9:11 PM
Come to think of it…John Oates doesn’t have blue eyes…does he?

Lorrie: Nope.

Chuck: Crystal Gayle had her brown eyes blue. I think.

Lorrie: Yep.
9:12 PM
Did you see Big Mike trying to cram his big behind in that tiny Ford in the commercial?

Aggghhh! WHy am I commenting on these ridiculous commercials!?!

Chuck: Not one single clue.
9:14 PM
Lorrie: They show a lot of Top 3 contestants returning home, but not from season 1. I wonder why?

Chuck: They didn’t have the budget to send them home.

So they let them make a long distance phone call.

Less than 10 mins though.

Lorrie: lol…they sent them home. Nikki McKibben even returned to her favorite karaoke bar, as I recall.
9:15 PM
Chuck: That was CGI.

It was a studio in Hollywood.
9:16 PM
They’re all four getting to go?

I’m guessing.

Lorrie: Yeah, but one goes home and stays home.
9:17 PM
Chuck: Mike is going home

is my last second guess
9:18 PM
Lorrie: I’m so torn between Mike and Casey. Somehow, I worry that Mike has a powerful voting contingent.
9:19 PM
Chuck: Casy is in the top 3

Casey

Lorrie: I’m with you now- Mike is going home.

Chuck: They need to tell Crystal is next
9:20 PM
Daughtery…oh joy. I wish I could fast-forward.

Lorrie: I like Daughtrey.

Chuck: That guy that finished 7th or 8th?
9:21 PM
Lorrie: I think it was 8th. Clearly, that didn’t matter in the long run. I remember him for his quote after getting voted off Idol: “My life definitely doesn’t suck.” THat was said in response every time he was asked if he felt like he got a raw deal for getting voted off what many felt was too soon.
9:22 PM
Chuck: I remember thinking he tanked a song just to get voted off.
9:23 PM
Lorrie: He’s another one where not winning did him more good than winning AI.
9:24 PM
Chuck: Wait, is that Chris Gaines?
9:25 PM

http://rigsamarole.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/824920082_945df7fc8d.jpg

Playing guitar for “Daughtry”
9:26 PM
How many bands use the last name of a band member?

I can name two others w/o thinking hard.
9:27 PM
Gentle readers…I think Lorrie left to floss.

Seriously, my daughter has the same haircut as the Daughtry guitarist.
9:28 PM
Not the one with the Mohawk.

Lorrie: Sorry…stepped away for a moment.

Fleetwood Mac
9:29 PM
Alman Brothers

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Chuck: Shaved bald guys with beards look like this: http://monkeyblogmonkeydo.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/wooly-willy.jpg
9:30 PM
Lorrie: and, let us not forget The Who.

Fronted by Pete and Roger Who.

Chuck: I’ll take Fleetwood Mac, but you left out Van Halen

but your joke saved you
9:31 PM
though you left out the Ramones
9:32 PM
Lorrie: Ah yes, the Ramones. I wonder why they chose that name?

lol

Chuck: They had their name changed at Elis island.
9:33 PM
PS: J. Geils Band

Lorrie: Prior to Ellis Island, their last name was Hambone.
9:34 PM
Chuck: You’re confusing them with Leon redbone.

Lorrie: Oh. My bad.
9:35 PM
Chuck: No, Color Me Badd

Lorrie: No, In Living Color.
9:36 PM
This is Lee: I mean, I mean, I, I, I, I mean,
9:37 PM
Chuck: No, Ocean Color Scene

Lee is safe
9:38 PM
Are they trying to scare Crystal fans to vote for her?

Lorrie: No, Billy Ocean.

Chuck: No, Billy Bragg

Lorrie: No, Billy Idol.

Screw blogging about AI, this is more fun.

Chuck: No, American Idol

Wait…you messed me up

Lorrie: LOL
9:39 PM
Chuck: No, Billie Holiday
9:40 PM
Lorrie: No, Billy Squier
9:41 PM
Chuck: No, Billy Ray Cyrus

Lorrie: No, Miley Cyrus.

Have we won our Bing audition yet?

Chuck: No, but upon seeing Cyrus…my PC tried to shut down out of shame.
9:42 PM
Lorrie: Well you started it.
9:43 PM
Chuck: How did we forget

Bon Jovi?

Lorrie: It’s always the obvious ones…

His name is actually Bon Giovi, or something like that.
9:44 PM
Chuck: wait, I know. I went through that procedure from Enternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

to forget

someone

Who is this singing?
9:45 PM
Lorrie: Grandpa Jones

Chuck: If anyone is reading this….leave a comment. I’ll allow you to leave an anonymous comment. I’d be embaressed too.

No, Buck Owens

Lorrie: No, Roy Clark.
9:46 PM
Chuck: I’m a Pickin’

Lorrie: And I’m a Grinnin’!

Chuck: So, Grandpa, what’s for dinner?

Lorrie: Butter beans and corn bread!
9:47 PM
Chuck: And that was bad?

Lorrie: Bon Jovi? Yes, that was bad.

Chuck: And we’re back!

Love how the one guitarist is told not to act like he’s really in the band.
9:48 PM
I promise you this…if Crystal goes home….you’re on your own for the rest of the season.

Lorrie: He succeeded
9:49 PM
Well, if she goes home, the blog this season is over, as far as I’m concerned.
9:53 PM
Chuck: Please tell the audience to shut up.

Lorrie: Shut up, Audience!

Chuck: Well, Mike is finally gone.
9:54 PM
Lorrie: Yes!

Chuck: Judges wasted a save on him they could have used for Siobhan.

Lorrie: Mike’s wife reminds me of one of those little troll dolls
9:55 PM
You are absolutely correct
9:56 PM
OK, guess I’ll see you next week now that Crystal’s safe.

Chuck: yes. I think
9:57 PM
I get a “I need sleep” week.

Lorrie: No you don’t. Only girls get those.

Chuck: Kara stands up and dances like Paula did.

Lorrie: I’m telling you, she found Paula’s pill stash under that desk.
9:58 PM
wow…that run at the end of that song was ridiculous. As in bad, not good.

Chuck: I think the prop guy wasn’t told to stop spiking the drink at that position.

Lorrie: Perhaps

Chuck: Why do we hear the judges talking to Mike?

9:59 PM boring, director, boring

Lorrie: More importantly, why are we still watching and blogging?

Good night.

Chuck: night

photo credit: Tom Hagerty for Metro I4 News

8:00 PM
Chuck: OH, Joy The top four…yet we don’t see Lilly or siobhan
8:01 PM
I picked who I wanted….someone forgot to mention the rest of the US that they can’t see talent.
8:02 PM
Duets….oh joy again.

Lorrie: Back when we started blogging, I couldn’t have imagined a Top 4 without Siobhan.
8:03 PM
Chuck: I can think of lots of people better to help them than Jamie Foxx

Lorrie: Do you have your Jamie Foxx antidote handy tonight, Chuck?

Chuck: Man they lay it on thick when they talk about Foxx
8:04 PM
Lilly will do Singing in the Rain for her solo.

Lorrie: yeah. I still think he’s kind of a jackass for the mean things he said about Miley Cyrus.

Chuck: I didn’t hear that
8:05 PM
Lorrie: OMG…this whole contestant/artist T-shirt thing sounds like something a 5th grade teacher would do.

Chuck: Jamie Foxx likes to get in faces
8:06 PM
Lorrie: I don’t get it. Having someone all up in my grill and still being able to perform can’t possibly mean that I could sing in front of 10,000 people

Chuck: It doesn’t

Lorrie: Lee sings Kiss from a Rose by Seal

Chuck: but Foxx came up with the idea so he has to sell it

Chuck: Lee is married to heidi Klum? Heidi DeWyze?

8:07 PM
Lorrie: Yep, and when Seal finds out he is gonna be PISSED.

Chuck: I’ll compare you to kiss by a rose on a grave?

Is that the lyric he’s singing?

Lorrie: This did not sound or feel like a Top 4 performance to me.
8:08 PM
Chuck: omg: Randy is teasing us by “almost” saying “in it to win it”

Lorrie: Randy and I are on the same page with his comment about Lee not having done anything different to the song.

Chuck: Ellen is channelling Paula
8:09 PM
If AI is on next season…they should ban the audience

Lorrie: Kara is dressed like she’s ready for the board room on The Apprentice.

I think Lee would have done well to have picked a Goo Goo Dolls song for movie songs tonight.
8:10 PM
Chuck: From the remake of Wings of Desire?
8:11 PM
Lorrie: No, from Der Himmel über Berlin.

Chuck: lol

Lorrie: LOL…I just had to wiki that.

Chuck: But I got it w/o having to look it up

I’m all over Wim Wenders

well, his movies

Lorrie: well, that doesn’t surprise me.
8:12 PM
Chuck: I want to see the A Team movie.
8:13 PM
Lorrie: Me too.

Chuck: You can’t watch foreign art films all day. The angst and ennui will kill you.
8:14 PM
Lorrie: I’d sooner gouge my eyes out with a spoon than watch foreign art films all day.

8:16 PM
Chuck: This is the 1st we hear that Mike made a goal to make the AI top 3.

Lorrie: Who’s Mike?

Chuck: And that he made it 1 year ago

The one on the show who should have left 3 weeks ago
8:17 PM
as opposed to the one that should have left last week

or the one that should have left 5 weeks ago

Lorrie: he’s rockin’ the biker chain on his jeans tonight.

Chuck: You see biker chain….I see 80s gay leather club.
8:18 PM
Lorrie: lol

Chuck: Not that I ever went to an 80s gay leather club

Meanwhile, I missed what Mike sang

What song was that?

Lorrie: I bet Big Mike had to lay down on the bed and use a coat hanger to zip up his pants tonight. Those suckers are tight.
8:19 PM
Chuck: Randy said “I don’t know what is going on tonight.”

I know: Jamie Foxx

Lorrie: I think it was called “River of Jordan.”

Chuck: Oh, the song was from Big Willy…wait, Free Willey
8:20 PM
Lorrie: Yeah, Big WIlly is the guy who just sang.

Chuck: River of Jordan….seriously…what does that mean?

I’m imagining a whole river of kids named Jordon swimming by
8:21 PM
Lorrie: That’s what it’s about! How did you know that?

Chuck: I confess, Wikipedia

Lorrie: I should’ve known…
8:24 PM
Chuck: Again, I would like to mention that the cows trying to eliminate the chickens is a form of genocide.
8:25 PM
Lorrie: I think it’s a hate crime.
8:26 PM
Chuck: Well, to protest, I’ve restricted going to Chik-fil-a to Sundays only.

Next up is “Falling Slowly” by Lee & the only talent left in the competition

Lorrie: I think it’s silly to do duets with the contestants.
8:27 PM
Chuck: It would be silly to do duets with the contestants….there’s too many of us
8:28 PM
Lorrie: I thought this sounded like a bunch of yelling. Hated it.

Chuck: Last year, Kris Allen sang that song….much better

Lorrie: Randy has been drinking the Kool-Aid again. As has Ellen.
8:29 PM
What? Kara called this a favorite moment of the season?! Maybe it’s ME who’s smoking crack tonight.

Chuck: No, you forget how bad the season has been
8:30 PM
Crystal is holding Lee’s guitar…fingering his fret.

That is not inneuendo by the way

Lorrie: yeah…odd-looking.

Chuck: Casey is singing the theme from the Graduate? Mrs. Robinson?

goo-goo-ja-oob

coo-coo-ja-oob

whatever

Lorrie: I love that song.
8:31 PM
Chuck: Casey doesn’t have a clue who was Joe Dimaggio and why america needed him
8:32 PM
Lorrie: is that Wyclef Jean in a Ritz crackers commercial??
8:33 PM
Chuck: Well, Bob Marley is dead..and that wasn’t a Red Stripe commercial…so I say yes
8:34 PM
Lorrie: Jamie Foxx really tries to make contestant feel uncomfortable during rehearsal.

Chuck: Jamie Foxx has sexual issues….he likes getting in the face of guys and saying “seduce me”
8:35 PM
Don’t clap you idiots…worse than hand waving

Lorrie: lol

Chuck: I hate to say…. I like what he is doing with the song

at least he is trying. Yes, folks, he’s in it to win it!

Lorrie: I like it, too.

8:36 PM
Lorrie: PUt on that artist T-shirt, Dawg!

Best of the night, thus far.

Chuck: Not saying much

Lorrie: no, but still.

Chuck: and the end…he mispronounced “pray”
8:38 PM
Randy…Casey didn’t see the movie…he has no idea that you’re doing a Mrs. Robinson joke.

Lorrie: he reminded me of Jason Castro’s Somehwere Over the Rainbow with that little guitar. Even though I couldn’t stand Castro.

Chuck: Randy said casey didn’t do anything with the song…and Ellen says he did and Randy agrees with her.
8:39 PM
Lorrie: Go figure.
8:40 PM
Chuck: Next duet is Mike & Casey?

Lorrie: oooooh. Crystal is gonna sing I’m Alright I bet. Already, I think I’ll love it.

Chuck: Crystal is doing I’m alright?

Lorrie: THat’s my guess.
8:43 PM
Chuck: I can’t believe no one picked “Crazy for You”

Lorrie: Andrew would’ve picked that one.

You’re talking about the Madonna song, right?

Chuck: Yes from Vision Quest…the wrestling movie

Lorrie: I called it.

8:45 PM
I like Kenny Loggins

starting out acoustic. Nice touch.
8:46 PM
Chuck: Bottom two: Mike & Lee

Lorrie: This is a great song for her, lyrics-wise, style-wise, everything.

SHe’s the best of the night now.
8:47 PM
Chuck: easily

but we suspected that an hour ago.

Lorrie: true.

Chuck: She had her competition eliminated

There

I said it…out in the open

Crystal had Lilly & Siobhan eliminated

8:49 PM
Lorrie: Way to call out Tony, Crystal’s boyfriend on his dancing, Ryan. You ass.

Chuck: Everything I do I do it for you? by Mike & Casey
8:52 PM
Lorrie: I hope not.
8:53 PM
Chuck: Have you ever really loved a woman

I’m guessing not.

Casey
8:54 PM
Casey is outplaying Mike on that big boy guitar

Lorrie: amen.
8:55 PM
Chuck: Seriously, to sit in the front of the audience are you required to have no control of your arms as they flow like fish out of water?

flop…not flow

Lorrie: I missed parts of this performance because Three Dog Night was performing under my feet. Literally, 3 dogs were scrappin’ and chasing each other my feet.

Ellen got her gay line in there.

Chuck: Ellen did the expected joke.
8:57 PM
Lorrie: OK. Enough of this crap. I bet Glee will be better than AI was tonight.

Chuck: not taking that bet

Lorrie: My bottom two- Lee and Mike.

Chuck: hmmmm….sounds familiar. We agree yet again.

photo credit: Tom Hagerty for Metro I4 News

Lorrie: I guess so, but I’m off my schedule and can’t seem to get it straightened out.

Chuck: I’ll help — They all sucked, but Lilly & Siobhan killed.

9:00 PM Lorrie: LOL. Sorry I missed those two chicks. I hear Lady Gaga is on tonight.

Chuck: No, Connick is singing “Radio Ga Ga”

Lorrie: Oh, my bad.

Chuck: No, if you sang Radio Ga Ga it would be your bad.

Lorrie: I liked your post from last night, BTW.

Chuck: Thank you. I am not sure if I wrote it. I fell asleep when Ryan came on and when I woke up it was on the screen

Lorrie: Hey…does our public know that we’ll be signing autographs at the Blue Sky West open house tomorrow night?

Chuck: They do now. What a surprise. They’re now singing a medley of Sinatra standards

Lorrie: I don’t think Sinatra was a good theme choice.

Chuck: lol Aaron sings “When I was 17″

Lorrie: Oh my, I think they may have been going for the Shania-dressed-in-men’s-clothes look, but they wound up making her look like one of the Indigo Girls, in my opinion.

Chuck: They are lip syncing

Lorrie: I’m talking about Crystal, my the way.

Chuck: If she looked like the Indigo Girls she’d be closer to fine

Lorrie: Ba-dum-dum! Have I mentioned that Big Mike does nothing for me? WHy is he still here?

Chuck: The big question is why are we here?

Lorrie: word.

Chuck: Word Up. by Cameo

I feel like a Bing commercial.

Lorrie: LOL. And you act like one, too.

Chuck: Act One. Guards patrol the castle in Denmark

And we cut to commercial…

Chuck: Songs of the Cinema with Jamie Foxx is next week. BTW Next week I’ll have emergency surgery

Lorrie: to cure what ailment?

Chuck: CantStandFoxxitis

Lorrie: lol…I love how you can predict the need for “emergency” surgery.

Chuck: I keep in close contact with my illnesses. With my schedule, we have to plan such things to fit them all in.

Lorrie: This is riveting television, learning what the contestants’ Tuesdays used to be like.

Mike left out the part where he would eat a small child for breakfast.

That is one big-ass tattoo on Crystal’s back. SHe ought to regret that one when she’s older.

Chuck: Wasn’t last night the first time we’ve seen it?

Lorrie: It’s certainly the first time I’ve seen it. It’s as big as a stop sign, so surely she hasn’t shown it before.

Chuck: Mike is safe.

Lorrie: Crystal said she feels like one of the guys. Tonight she looks like one of the guys.

Casey’s going home tonight. I’ve seen his last night’s performance.

Chuck: Lee is safe.

Lorrie: Lee looks like he tied one on last night and he looks uncomfortable as hell.

Chuck: Lee realized long ago, he is just a pale imitation of David Cook.

Lorrie: only with all of his hair. Cook has a comb-over. Or, should I say, comb-forward.

Chuck: Did someone slip Valium in all their Cokes? Lee is safe? I am so shocked.

Lorrie: Yes. It’s necessary to keep from going into epileptic fits when watching a Lady Gaga performance.

Chuck: In that case….you’re on your own while she is on.

Lorrie: You’re gonna miss some real craziness…

Chuck: If I need to see real craziness, I just look into a mirror. You can’t fool me. Lady Gaga is just Tori Amos in drag.

Lorrie: LOL…she’s better than Tori Amos. wonder who comes up with Lady GG’s crazy-ass costumes.

Chuck: Those aren’t costumes. I bought that outfit at Target yesterday.

Lorrie: Are you wearing that to the Blue Sky West thingy tomorrow night? If so, I will just die because I had planned to wear MY outfit like that. I think she’s wearing all the netting over her face to mask the fact that she’s lip syncing.

Chuck: As for what the male dancers are wearing, look up an old picture of Jack Lalayne

Lorrie: True!

This song sucks. Somebody should put Alejandro out of his misery.

Chuck: Isn’t that what she’s doing?

Lorrie: I don’t know what all of her dance moves are called, but at least one I’ve seen should be called “The Whack-Off.” My apologies for being crude.

Well, not really.

Chuck: Seriously, a flaming statute with stigmata? How old-fashioned.

Our garage band did that in 1982.

Lorrie: LOL

Chuck: You might have heard of us: U1

Lorrie: Haven’t heard of them. I did however, have the bootleg cassette of UB30′s garage recording.

Chuck: I was once in UB30′s garage. It was next to a ska park.

Lorrie: Down the street from the red, red wine store?

Chuck: Yes, that’s it. They lived it up then. Before their hit, “I Gout You, Babe.”

Lorrie: Harry Connick Jr. is funny as hell.

Chuck: Crystal just checked her insulin PUMP!!! Now we know.

Lorrie: That’s code for P-R-E-G-N-A-N-T.

Chuck: I am keeping this episode just to watch Connick mess with them again. Lee thought Harry was Chris Isaak? You mean Harry Connick isn’t Chris Isaak’s new stage name?

Harry Connick then starts to sing a Beatles hit….something, something….wait, no “And I love her.”

Tell this contestent that Beatles week was 4 weeks ago.

He looks under his eyebrows likes he’s a straight guy singing “And I love her” in a gay bar.

Lorrie: I’m getting very sleepy. And I love me some HCJ. But this is a snooze. AAAAGH!!! Stop waiving your arms!

Chuck: See? See what I mean?

Lorrie: THere, I took care of that for you, Chuck.

Chuck: Thanks.

Lorrie: Double AAAAGH!!!

Chuck: By the way….in case you missed it: As Connick sings, he looks under his eyebrows likes he’s a straight guy singing “And I love her” in a gay bar.

Lorrie: LOL….were you expecting me to have a certain reaction from that comment?

Chuck: No, I just smirked with satisfaction as I typed it. And I wanted to feel that smirk again.

Lorrie: Do you feel better now? Good.

Chuck: It takes a certain masochist to want to hear your own songs ruined as you are on stage with the offenders.

(The Top 5 are “singing” Connick’s songs as he plays piano.”)

Lorrie: I hope you’re clarifying this for the readers and not me.

Chuck: We have readers? You really do need more sleep.

Lorrie: Casey is a good-looking you ng man with pretty teeth (must have had a great orthodontist) but I think his number is up tonight.

Chuck: Harry Connick just said he was singing at Frank Sinatra’s 75th birthday party…”And the world’s greatest singers were there.”

Lorrie: What the hell was up with Ryan just saying the HCJ is “still with his wife Jill..”??? As though Ol’ Blue Eyes would have stolen her away that night in the elevator?

Chuck: For our “readers”: Connick told a story how he forgot the words singing in front of Sinatra and Sinatra was a really smarmy geezer.

Well, Ryan was projecting. A big ol smackeroo from Ol’ Blue Eyes and he would have run away with him.

Of course, by “Ol Blue Eyes” I mean Ryan imagines himself.

bad dum!

Lorrie: No he doesn’t silly. He likes boys. Not Jill.

Chuck: no no

(By the way, when you explain a joke you know it was bad…but here we go)

I meant Ryan imagines running away with himself.

Lorrie: oh. Let’s move on. We’re losing our reader.

Chuck: She just fell asleep.

Lorrie: Crystal is wearing a flower vase in her ear tonight.

Chuck: If Aaron is with Crystal…they are both safe.

oh oh

If Crystal is with Casey…he is out and the audience is being told to vote more for Crystal.

Lorrie: Agreed.

Wooohooo!!!

Chuck: Mike and aaron means aaron is out

Lorrie: Yeah, I think you’re right. But I’ll be pleased with whomever goes home out of those two.

Chuck: no, the problem is AAron will go home and Mike’s fans will vote harder for him next week.

Lorrie: Aaron is outta there.

Chuck: Mike just told Aaron if he had been told he was out he may have punted the kid off the stage.

Lorrie: OK…I can skip the montage…I’m out. See ya next week!

Chuck: Do I have to?

Lorrie: yes, you have to.

Chuck: Oh ok.

Lorrie: Bye!

Chuck: I’ll reschedule the emergency surgery

photo credit: mattmc89

I once promised to stop watching if she or Crystal left the show, but with Lorrie out…I am forced to soldier on.

I’m looking to make a “Fly Me to the Moon” joke tonight.

A little Sinatra trivia by writer Jonathan Gould in the Beatles bio Can’t Buy Me Love, Sinatra used the term “My Bird” as a catchphrase. As in “How’s your bird?”

or “I got a little water in my bird.” Sinatra also had a distaste for the Beatles back in 1965 and said so in a press release. John Lennon evidently read that and

wrote: “And Your Bird Can Sing” Check out the lyrics….

You tell me that you’ve got everything you want
And your bird can sing
But you don’t get me, you don’t get me

You say you’ve seen seven wonders and your bird is green
But you can’t see me, you can’t see me

When your prized possessions start to weigh you down
Look in my direction, I’ll be round, I’ll be round

When your bird is broken will it bring you down
You may be awoken, I’ll be round, I’ll be round

You tell me that you’ve heard every sound there is
And your bird can swing
But you can’t hear me, you can’t hear me.

oh, evidently the show has started….

Lee, Casey, Aaron, Mike, and Crystal

Harry Connick said “This is American Idol”

I’m for anything that saves me from hearing Ryan say it again.

Who has the ego to sing My Way? I’m thinking Michael. Of course, I preferred the Sid Vicious version.
If Lorrie was here, she’d mention Crystal is dressed up tonight.

I liked Sinatra’s music…can’t say I cared for his public ego.

Connick wrote the score for the contestants? “You think Shania Twain was up in here doing this? ” Connick said. No, she wasn’t. And I bet she made as much

for the show as you did.

He’s also playing piano for each contestant? AI got him cheap.

Ryan spent 2 minutes boring us asking Connick questions. Seven mins in and I wish they’d fly me to the moon.

(Already)

Sinatra’s daughters bring Simon one of Frank’s hankies. Those boots are made for shufflin now-a-days.

Connick is actually helping Aaron with good advice.

Connick should take Simon’s place.

Sorry, Aaron, this Fly Me to the Moon sounds like it’s being sung by a 16yo

A smidge better in the second verse…well, until I wrote that. Getting worse.

The kid smiles through it all though.,

I am so sick of Randy saying “In it to win it.” And Randy liked him. I am not in touch with these judges. Simon mentions Aaron’s lack of conviction. That

sounds right.

Casey is going to sing Blue Skies.

Now that I think of it, Lilly should sing “My Way”

Casey tells a sad story on how he counts people as friends who have no idea who he is or what he does.

Seriously, seeing Aaron & Casey have convinced me that Sinatra needed that ego to sell these songs. I am hating what Casey is doing to Blue Skies.

Well, respect to Casey. One of his friends is an “alternate dresser.” Takes conviction to ask your friend to come on national tv (no pun…well, yes a pun) and

support you.

Well, the judges disliked Casey
also. Simon does a fair joke at Casey’s expense.

I liked hearing Connick say Casey sang it better in rehersal.

Crystal is singing “Summer Wind”

Connick says “There’s nothing I need to tell you.” Does he recognize talent?

She has a huge tat on her back. (The best I can do to give you Lorrie’s clothing report.)

I doubt the judges will like it. It was very laidback. Siobhan would have made something wild out of the song.

Kara likes Crystal’s “phrasing.” Simon throws out the “being in it to win it.”

Crystal explained why she sang it that way. “I don’t think I should sing big notes just because I’m on American Idol”

Well, depends on if you want to win American Idol.

Mike is singing the Way You Look Tonight.

He actually has the swagger needed to carry off the song. But I couldn’t handle the album “Big Mike Sings Ol’ Blue Eyes”

Well, Randy has decided to champion Mike.

I believe AI often gives us the least offensive singer…and we seem to be heading that way this season.

Simon also liked Mike.

The judges mention liking the arrangement…but Connick gets all that credit.

Lee is singing That’s Life

Connick is funny in the interview. Lee’s not so bad, but the band seems louder this time.

And Lee doesn’t have the voice to overcome that. He also seems out of breath at the end.

The judges like Lee. Kara thinks he needs more confidence.

I think the bottom two will be Aaron & Casey.

Going home is Casey.

photo credit: STC4blues