Real Kato Blog

It's the final competition, between Lee and Crystal. They each sing their favorite song from the season, then one chosen by the producer, then the always-bad pre-written single that the winner will record.

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Posted by Ken in: music, television

The LOST Finale

Tuesday, 2010 May 25 - 10:22 am

If you haven't watched it yet, don't click through... there are spoilers within.

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Posted by Ken in: television

Today's Frozen Meal: Healthy Choice Chicken Alfredo Florentine

Monday, 2010 May 24 - 2:14 pm

"Chicken Tenderloins in Alfredo Sauce with Spinach and Tomatoes over Whole Grain Penne".

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Posted by Ken in: food

Thursday's Frozen Meal: Healthy Choice Lemon Garlic Chicken and Shrimp

Monday, 2010 May 24 - 2:09 pm

From the "Café Steamers" Mediterranean-inspired collection: "Chicken Tenderloins and Shrimp, with Whole Grain Pasta, Spinach, Onions, Tomatoes and Olive Oil, in a Lemon Garlic Sauce".

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Posted by Ken in: food

Tuesday's Frozen Meal: Smart Option Supreme Pizza

Monday, 2010 May 24 - 2:02 pm

"Crispy thin crust SUPREME sausage, pepperoni, red & green peppers and onions PIZZA".

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Posted by Ken in: food

Yesterday's Frozen Meal: Lean Cuisine Meatloaf with Gravy and Whipped Potatoes

Tuesday, 2010 May 18 - 9:59 pm

It's meatloaf. No other description necessary, I guess.

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Posted by Ken in: food

Sous Vide

Tuesday, 2010 May 18 - 9:43 pm

Yeah. Until recently I didn't even know about sous vide cooking. My foodie friend Eileen gave me some well-deserved crap about it. But now I get my revenge: I am doing my own sous vide cooking at home, using my $80 home-built contraption. How many people can say that?

So I already had a vacuum sealer. That's half of this technique ("sous vide" means "under vacuum"). Here are a couple of steaks I vacuumed-sealed with a basic marinade (just lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper).

Sous Vide Prep

The other half is a temperature controlled water bath for precision cooking. I took a $20 crock pot, a $50 temperature controller, and a $10 thermistor, and made this thing:

Sous Vide Prep

132°F for a little over an hour, and then seasoned and marked on the grill. Here's the amazing result.

Sous Vide Finished Product

It's a perfect medium-rare, juicy and tender. It's fantastic and foolproof. I am a happy happy man.

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Posted by Ken in: food

Apple Watch: New Macbooks

Tuesday, 2010 May 18 - 9:03 pm

Briefly: better battery life (10 hours), slightly faster CPU (2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo), better graphics (NVidia GeForce 320M). Still $999; still a good value. If you get it, get the 4GB upgrade for $100.

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Posted by Ken in: techwatch

American Idol Week 10: Top 3

Tuesday, 2010 May 18 - 8:56 pm

Michael went home last week, as expected. Tonight: two songs from each contestant, one of their own choosing and one judges' choice.

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Posted by Ken in: music, television

Today's Frozen Meal: Smart Ones Pasta Primavera

Friday, 2010 May 14 - 3:15 pm

"Tender bow tie pasta with broccoli florets and julienne-cut carrots in a creamy parmesan sauce."

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Posted by Ken in: food

Yesterday's Frozen Meal: Healthy Choice Slow Roasted Turkey Medallions

Friday, 2010 May 14 - 3:02 pm

"Turkey Medallions in Savory Gravy with Red Skinned Potatoes, Butternut Squash, Apples & Cranberries."

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Posted by Ken in: food

Monday's Frozen Meal: Michelina's Lean Gourmet Creamy Rigatoni with Broccoli and Chicken

Wednesday, 2010 May 12 - 4:04 pm

"Creamy sauce and pasta with broccoli and WHITE chicken."

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Posted by Ken in: food

American Idol Week 9: Top 4

Tuesday, 2010 May 11 - 8:56 pm

Aaron finally went home last week. Tonight: Jamie Foxx mentors the singers through movie songs. Also: duets.

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Posted by Ken in: music, television

Today's Frozen Meal: Lean Cuisine Roasted Honey Chicken

Friday, 2010 May 7 - 5:59 pm

"Roasted white meat chicken in a sweet honey sauce with snap peas, yellow beans & whole wheat pilaf." Yes, a sweet honey, as opposed to that other kind.

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Posted by Ken in: food

Health Note

Friday, 2010 May 7 - 12:10 pm

So, remember back in the day, when I was running frequently and posting my two-mile times? And then I stopped running for a while, and ate poorly a lot, and my blood pressure skyrocketed? Yeah, that was scary.

I haven't talked about it much, but I'm running regularly again. I've got the Nike+ thing for my iPhone now, which is a lot of fun. There's a decent route for running near where I work. So I'm running 5 kilometers two or three times a week. I've broken the 30-minute mark twice.

And all those frozen lunches I've been eating... yeah, you can decry all the preservatives, but there's no denying that they're significantly lower in calories, fat, and sodium than just about any fast food or restaurant meal I can get. I used to eat out for lunch a lot. Replacing all those burgers and subs with these little frozen meals has made a difference. How much of a difference? Since the start of the year, I've lost eight pounds. My blood pressure this morning: 113 over 77.

And no, I'm not planning on eating those frozen lunches forever; this is just an experiment. The next phase will involve cooking healthy low-calorie meals from scratch. I'm even planning to make my own cheese.

I have a lot of motivation to stay healthy... the main one is that I want to be around a long time to take care of my lovely wife. That's the thought that keeps my legs moving when I'm out there on a long uphill stretch.

I think I'm doing okay.

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Posted by Ken in: food, life

Yesterday's Frozen Meal: Healthy Choice Chicken Pad Thai

Friday, 2010 May 7 - 11:23 am

From the "Café Steamers" collection: "Chicken Tenderloin with Whole Grain Pasta and Vegetables in a Sweet and Mild Curry Sauce".

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Posted by Ken in: food

Yesterday's Frozen Meal: Lean Cuisine Thai-Style Chicken with Noodles

Thursday, 2010 May 6 - 11:45 am

"Roasted white meat chicken, whole wheat noodles, green beans & carrots in a creamy chili peanut sauce."

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Posted by Ken in: food

Tuesday's Frozen Meal: Michelina's Lean Gourmet Chicken Alfredo Florentine

Thursday, 2010 May 6 - 11:34 am

Is this new? I didn't know Michelina had "lean" meals. "Creamy alfredo sauce with white chicken & spinach with fettuccine". Note the emphasis on WHITE chicken. Damn chicken racists.

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Posted by Ken in: food

American Idol Week 8: Top 5

Tuesday, 2010 May 4 - 9:05 pm

Siobhan went out last week; a small upset but not a shocker given her performance. This week's theme is Frank Sinatra, also known as "an invitation to butcher classics once again". Harry Connick Jr. is the mentor; he's even helping to write arrangements and playing along during the performances.

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Posted by Ken in: music

So, This Happened

Sunday, 2010 May 2 - 10:19 pm

Okay, let me be clear: I wasn't actually part of this; it just happened right in front of me.

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Posted by Ken in: life

Tech Stuff

Friday, 2010 April 30 - 2:41 pm

So a brief interlude between all the lunch reviews and American Idol recaps... there are a few tidbits in the tech world that I need to comment on today.

Amy's iPad 3G arrived today. I'll post unboxing photos and a full overview of it later this weekend. As I noted in my Facebook status: the FedEx guy asked me, "What is this thing? We've had THOUSANDS of them being delivered today." For all the naysayers who figured it would bomb... there's a web site with a running tally of the estimated number of iPads online. As of this moment: over 1.1 million. Some estimates have Apple selling 7 million in 2010.

Meanwhile, Microsoft this week admitted that it would not be releasing its rumored "Courier" device. This thing made a splash a while back when the oh-so-reliable "We Buy Stolen Prototypes" Gizmodo web site claimed that Courier was a real device, in the "late prototype" stage of development. The basis for this was a completely artificial marketing concept video. My guess is that "Courier" had never gone much past the drawing board before Microsoft's developers realized there was no way they'd ever deliver such a device.

And also meanwhile, today HP announced that they were ceasing development on their "Slate" tablet device. Remember this? Microsoftians were certain that this vaporware product, hyped by Steve Ballmer, would easily trump the iPad. Microsoft likes to talk about how they were pioneers in tablet computing... funny how that never translated into any decent products.

I hope this is a lesson for people who are so quickly dismissive of Apple: there is an immense amount of engineering effort that goes into an Apple product, and it's really not easy for other companies to copy them, much less surpass them. Next time Apple comes up with a groundbreaking new device, and you start listing reasons why you'd rather stick with your outdated Creative Nomad MP3 player, your Palm Treo, or your Dell netbook... maybe you'll look back on this week's events and you'll open your mind just a bit.

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Posted by Ken in: techwatch

Wednesday's Frozen Meal: Healthy Choice Sweet and Spicy Orange Zest Chicken

Friday, 2010 April 30 - 11:23 am

From the "Café Steamers" collection: "Chicken Tenderloin with Rice and Vegetables in a Spicy Orange Peel Sauce".

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Posted by Ken in: food

American Idol Week 7: Top 6

Tuesday, 2010 April 27 - 9:41 pm

It's Shania Twain week. Woo, uh, hoo. Tim finally went out last week. As it turns out, Tim had been the longest-running "VoteForTheWorst.com" contestant in history.

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Posted by Ken in: music, television

Yesterday's Frozen Meal: Smart Ones Orange Sesame Chicken

Tuesday, 2010 April 27 - 10:21 am

From their "Fruit Inspirations" collection. "Breaded chicken tenderloins in a zesty sesame orange sauce with rice."

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Posted by Ken in: food

Today's Frozen Meal: Smart Ones Three Cheese Ziti Marinara

Thursday, 2010 April 22 - 6:01 pm

"Ziti pasta in a delicious marinara sauce topped with mozzarella, monterey jack and parmesan cheeses." Again, why the need to explain that ziti is pasta? And if yesterday's meal was "Asian-style", why isn't this one "Caucasian-style"?

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Posted by Ken in: food

Yesterday's Frozen Meal: Smart Ones Teriyaki Chicken and Vegetables

Thursday, 2010 April 22 - 5:49 pm

"Grilled white meat chicken and Asian-style vegetables in a sweet and spicy teriyaki sauce over white rice." Asian-style, eh?

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Posted by Ken in: food

American Idol Week 6: Top 7

Tuesday, 2010 April 20 - 9:02 pm

Andrew and Katie went out last week. This week is "inspirational songs" week, ugh. Alicia Keys is the mentor. Tomorrow Bill Gates is supposed to make some kind of surprise appearance for Idol Gives Back.

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Posted by Ken in: music, television

Today's Frozen Meal: Smart Ones Chicken Enchiladas Suiza

Monday, 2010 April 19 - 1:28 pm

"In a zesty sour cream and green chile sauce with Spanish rice." Wait: Smart Ones has two nearly identical enchilada meals? Or is this one a replacement for the other one?

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Posted by Ken in: food

Today's Frozen Meal: Smart Ones Chicken Enchiladas Monterey

Thursday, 2010 April 15 - 1:01 pm

"Two white corn flour tortillas filled with tender chicken, smothered in a spicy tomato and pepper sauce paired with a side of southwest style rice and corn." Note to company: I am not fooled by the fact that you named a California city in your product.

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Posted by Ken in: food

Yesterday's Frozen Meal: Healthy Choice Spicy Caribbean Chicken

Thursday, 2010 April 15 - 12:54 pm

"Chicken Tenderloins, Pineapple, Black Beans and Corn, in a Jerk Sauce, Over a Bed of Whole Grain Rice."

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Posted by Ken in: food

American Idol Week 5: Top 9 Again

Tuesday, 2010 April 13 - 9:45 pm

Michael was the bottom vote-getter last week, but was saved by the judges. This week: Elvis. Adam Lambert is the mentor. The cast of "Glee" is in the audience.

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Posted by Ken in: music, television

New MacBook Pro Lineup Announced Today

Tuesday, 2010 April 13 - 10:29 am

The skinny:

13" MacBook Pro:

Prices unchanged at $1199/$1499
CPU speed bumped from 2.26/2.53 GHz to 2.40/2.66 GHz; still Core2 Duo.
Standard RAM is 4GB on all models (previous low-end model was 2GB).
Standard hard drive lineup up from 160/250 GB to 250/320GB.
GPU is now GeForce 320M instead of GeForce 9400M (Apple says it's up to 80% faster)
Headphone port now supports iPhone headset
Battery life up from 7 hours to 10 hours

15" MacBook Pro:

Prices lineup went from $1699/$1999/$2299 to $1799/$1999/$2199
CPU options were 2.53/2.66 GHz Core2 Duo; now 2.4/2.53 GHz Core i5 or 2.66GHz Corei7
Standard hard drive lineup up from 250/320/500 GB to 320/500/500 GB
GPU is now IntelHD+GeForce GT 330M, instead of GeForce 9400M+9600M; auto-switches on the fly
New optional high-res 1680x1050 display
Headphone port now supports iPhone headset
Built-in subwoofer
Battery life up from 7 hours to 8-9 hours

17" MacBook Pro:

Prices dropped from $2499 to $2299
CPU options were 2.8/3.06GHz Core 2 Duo; now 2.53/2.66 GHz Core i7
GPU is now IntelHD+GeForce GT 330M, instead of GeForce 9400M+9600M; auto-switches on the fly
Headphone port now supports iPhone headset
Built-in subwoofer
Battery life up from 7 hours to 8-9 hours

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Posted by Ken in: techwatch

Today's Frozen Meal: Kashi Red Curry Chicken

Monday, 2010 April 12 - 12:26 pm

"Kashi 7 Whole Grains & Sesame Pilaf; Chicken Breast with Fire Roasted Sweet Potato, Red Peppers, Bok Choy, Bamboo Shoots & Kale; Zesty Thai Style Red Curry Sauce."

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Posted by Ken in: food

American Idol Week 4: Top 9

Tuesday, 2010 April 6 - 9:55 pm

Didi went out last week. This week: Lennon and McCartney.

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Posted by Ken in: music, television

Today's Frozen Meal: Kashi Mayan Harvest Bake (Again)

Monday, 2010 April 5 - 1:10 pm

Based on feedback from a few people, I went back and tried this meal again. Click here to read the updated review.

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Posted by Ken in: food

Friday's Frozen Meal: Smart Ones Home Style Beef Pot Roast

Monday, 2010 April 5 - 1:08 pm

"With carrots, onions, potatoes, green beans, & gravy."

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Posted by Ken in: food

Thursday's Frozen Meal: Smart Ones Traditional Lasagna with Meat Sauce

Monday, 2010 April 5 - 1:01 pm

No further description provided; I guess "lasagna with meat sauce" speaks for itself.

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Posted by Ken in: food

American Idol Week 3: Top 10

Wednesday, 2010 March 31 - 1:20 am

As predicted, Paige went out last week. No surprise. This week: Usher, mentoring for soul and R&B week.

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Posted by Ken in: music, television

Yesterday's Frozen Meal: Lean Cuisine Pasta Romano with Bacon

Tuesday, 2010 March 30 - 1:57 pm

"In a fire roasted tomato sauce with romano cheese."

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Posted by Ken in: food

Friday's Frozen Meal: Lean Cuisine Herb Roasted Chicken

Tuesday, 2010 March 30 - 1:57 pm

"Chicken breast & creamy herb sauce, roasted potatoes & vegetables."

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Posted by Ken in: food

Wednesday's Frozen Meal: Lean Cuisine Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Tuesday, 2010 March 30 - 1:57 pm

"With mushrooms & basil". No fancy description here.

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Posted by Ken in: food

American Idol Week 2: Top 11

Tuesday, 2010 March 23 - 10:14 pm

The theme is Billboard #1 Hits. Miley Cyrus is the mentor tonight. Huh. It's hard to imagine an adult taking advice from a 17-year-old kid who uses AutoTune when she performs, but whatever.

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Posted by Ken in: music, television

Today's Frozen Meal: Smart Ones Lasagna Florentine

Tuesday, 2010 March 23 - 1:41 pm

"Rich, five layer lasagna with ricotta cheese, zucchini & spinach."

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Posted by Ken in: food

Yesterday's Frozen Meal: Marie Callender's Beef Tips in Mushroom Sauce

Tuesday, 2010 March 23 - 1:35 pm

"With Roasted Potatoes, Green Beans & Cranberries."

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Posted by Ken in: food

History in the Making

Sunday, 2010 March 21 - 10:17 pm

This is one of those nights where people might actually want to watch C-SPAN.

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Posted by Ken in: politics

Today's Frozen Meal: Smart Ones Savory Steak and Ranch Grilled Flatbread

Friday, 2010 March 19 - 1:59 pm

The full name is actually "Weight Watchers® Smart Ones® Artisan Creations Grilled Flatbread Savory Steak & Ranch." These things have too many dang names. "Seasoned Beef Steak, Fire-Roasted Green Bell Peppers, Onions, Reduced Fat Mozzarella Cheese, with a Creamy Ranch Sauce on a Flatbread."

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Posted by Ken in: food

Today's Frozen Meal: Marie Callender's Honey Roasted Turkey

Thursday, 2010 March 18 - 4:32 pm

"With Cheddar-Bacon Mashed Potatoes, Gravy & Vegetables."

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Posted by Ken in: food

Today's Frozen Meal: Lean Cuisine Lasagna with Meat Sauce

Wednesday, 2010 March 17 - 1:50 pm

"Layered pasta with seasoned meat, tomato and reduced fat mozzarella cheese."

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Posted by Ken in: food

American Idol Week 1: Top 12

Tuesday, 2010 March 16 - 10:53 pm

It's Rolling Stones night.

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Posted by Ken in: music, television

It's That Time Again

Monday, 2010 March 15 - 11:03 pm

Well. You know the drill. American Idol is back, and I have to blog about it. I think this year I'll skip trying to give them scores and keep running averages and all that... that got to be too much of a hassle.

We're at the top 12, so here's my prediction on how each of the contestants will finish.

12. Tim Urban. It's easy to see why he didn't make the original cut. He's completely out of his element. He's got the Brady Bunch boy-next-door look, but his vocals are weak and he looks like a lost puppy on stage. He won't last long.

11. Katie Stevens. She has a lot of trouble staying on pitch, and she lacks confidence on stage. When the judges say she doesn't know what kind of singer she is, what they really mean is that she lacks credibility as an artist.

10. Paige Miles. Her biggest problem is a lack of charisma. Much like Katie, she seems nervous on stage and that hurts her vocals; it all seems like karaoke with her.

9. Aaron Kelly. He actually deserves to leave sooner than Katie, but he's what I call "grandma-friendly": young and harmless-looking. That's a big draw for the Idol demographic, so he'll stay around longer than he should.

8. Lacey Brown. I actually really want to like her, but I find it hard to. It seems like she's trying too hard to please the judges instead of expressing herself as an artist. In other words, it comes off a little phony. Last week's performance was good, but she's going to have to really work to draw people in.

7. Andrew Garcia. Andrew would have been a shoo-in for the top 3 if he could have kept doing things like his Paula Abdul cover. But as the judges said, he seems to have peaked too soon, and he's starting to seem like a one-trick pony. He has potential, but he's going to need to find a new gimmick.

6. Didi Benami. You know, she's pretty and she's likable, but her vocals aren't great. She's had several uneven performances. I think she's got the potential to improve, but I haven't been wowed so far. I think she'll hang around for a while based on her likability, but I can't see her winning.

5. Michael Lynch. Okay, his rendition of "This Woman's Work" was crazy good, and he's definitely an interesting character. I'm just not totally convinced he can keep things interesting from week to week. He's talented and likable, but I fear we'll get bored with him at some point.

4. Crystal Bowersox. She's unquestionably talented, but you get the feeling that she's just performing exactly what she's performed in coffee houses for the last ten years. She's all but admitted that she's selling out for the money. She carries an attitude that she's too good for this show, and I think that'll cost her eventually.

3. Casey James. Let's face it: he's here based on his looks. But he's inoffensive and he's not a bad singer. He'll coast through a long way before the voters eventually realize there's not much substance behind the face.

2. Siobhan Magnus. Yep, she's weird. It's almost like she's got Asperger's syndrome or something; she's seems so disconnected. But I think she clearly has the best voice out of everyone, and she deserves to be recognized for that.

1. Lee Dewyze. You might be thinking, "Wha?" He's not very flashy or memorable. But he sounds exactly like the kind of guys you hear on the radio nowadays. He's current and consistent; you won't hear him butchering some 1940s standard. It's his mainstream appeal that makes him the favorite right now.

Now, that isn't how I want things to play out. I'd love to see Lacey take a chance and end up flooring everyone with some breakout performance. I'd love to see Andrew find a new gimmick. It'd be great if Siobhan seemed more in touch with reality. And it'd be fantastic if Michael wowed us week after week with alternative music. But it's mainstream America that decides these things, and there's a limit as to how far contestants can stray from the tried and true formulas.

Top 12 competition starts tomorrow.

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Posted by Ken in: music, television

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