Travis Johnson

I'm inspired when I see people rise above their hurdles, their handicaps.  I've mentioned before that Ela Ortega is a person like this.  There will always be excuses for why a person cannot serve in ministry, succed in life, befriend people, or smile. Ela's breathing condition keeps her out of church most Sundays.  It doesn't keep her from calling all of our guests to say thank you for attending.

A handicap also did not keep Bryan Gaynor from being the star of the night on "So You Think You Can Dance."  I watched it for the first time last night.  I think I'm hooked.  I also think I'm more inspired than ever to eliminate excuses from my life.  If Bryan and Ela can succeed in spite of their situations, so can I.

Blake Lewis rocks.  Simon Cowell's hair trips me out.  Randy Jackson looked like more like General Stonewall Jackson than a former member of Journey.  Jordin has pipes.  I can't believe she's only 17.  I hope Blake wins it all.  Its obvious that Jordin Sparks is the new AI.

Melinda Doolittle - Tonight she reminded me of Sponge Bob Square Pants for some reason.  Not a great performance.

Lakeisha Jones -   I used to really like her.  I just feel like she has one sound within one style.  If you've heard her once, you've heard her a thousand times.

Blake Lewis - This guy is a star in the same way Daughtry was.  I don't think he nailed it tonight.  But, he's the best on this competition.  Whether he wins it all or not, he will sell the most records and ring through my ear buds.

Jordin Sparks - She rocked.  After she sang, standing next to Ryan Seacrest he looked like he was the size of one of her legs.  I don't know if that makes her so tall/big or that he's so little?

Prediction - I think without a doubt, Lakeisha goes home tonight.  She was already in danger.  She didn't help herself tonight.

America voted and Phil Stacey is going home.  You rock, bro.

Phil Stacey - funky jacket and all, Phil has some serious pipes.  You've got something going for you in addition to a killer voice and bald head.  You've got a loyal fan base that votes late into the night.  Guaranteed the dial idol prediction trends up for you late while others fade away.  On a night where there is 4 hours of voting, I think that will help.

Jordin Sparks - She was weak tonight but has excellent stage presence.  This was not her thing.  But, she is in no jeopardy of being voted off...she did look like she stepped off the set of the Adam's family.

Lakeisha Jones - Girl, when you can't sit down to talk for fear of a wardrobe malfunction, its time to consider a bigger pair of jeans.  You didn't cut the mustard tonight.

Blake Lewis - That kid is a rock star.  He's just got it.  But, I do have to agree with Jon Bon Jovi, you ought to sing at least half the song.  Still I'll be your CD when it comes out...win or lose.

Chris Richardson - Go home already.  I can't really handle much more of the Justin Timberlake knockoff.  Its like he has one speed.  Its old already.

Melinda DooLittle - What the!??!  The Gospel girl has a rocker trapped inside.  I dig, man...I dig.

Prediction: This is going to be close.  I hate that two people get voted off tonight all because of the stunt that AI pulled last week.  Anyway, I think the two that will go home are Chris Richardson and Lakeisha Jones.  Still, I don't like that Phil sang "Going Down in a Blaze of Glory."  I hope Gary is not right.

phil stacey - blake lewis - melinda doolittle - Jordin Sparks - Lakeisha Jones - Chris Richardson

Phil Stacey, Blake Lewis, Jordin Sparks, Lakeisha Jones, Melinda Doolittle, Chris Richardson you are all safe. What the heck was that?!

Huge news for Phil: VFTW has endorsed Phil Stacey as their American Idol.  I'm really cool with it...especially if it delivers an extra million or two votes for our shiny headed friend!

Phil Stacey
Face it.  Phil Stacey rocked.  And, his voters dial late into the night.  He's got to stay tight the rest of the way to have a shot.  But, he is definitely not going home tonight!  I'm voting for this cat to the tune of 48 votes per night.  Last night, we could only get 3 votes through.

Jordin Sparks
This young chick can light it up.  She was the best girl last night.  She'll probably at least be in the final three unless she wears another outfit that looks like a picnic.

Blake Lewis
I can't say it enough.  But, Blake looks like a young Bono. He has great stage presence.  His voice is smooth as silk.  I'll be buying his CD post-idol.

Chris Richardson
Bad.  If you've seen one of his performances, you've seen them all.  He is to Justin Timberlake what Weird Al is to Michael Jackson.

Sanjaya Malakar
Dude. No matter what happens, I have to give you props for being an overachiever.  Still, I can't get past your ever evolving hair.  You need to profusely thank the guys at votefortheworst!

Melinda Doolittle
She rocks.  She has a strong voice and is so steady in producing 5 star performances.  But, Simon hit the nail on the head...quit acting surprised when you get good reviews.  You know you're good.  Just go with it.

LaKeisha Jones
Not a good performance last night.  With a strong field of girl performers, you are sinking in comparison.  I think LaKeisha is in danger this week.

Bottom Three Prediction: Chris Richardson, Sanjaya Malakar (house of Sanjaya can protect him from Bottom 3 anymore), and Lakeisha Jones

Gone this week? Sanjaya (with fingers crossed)

(Omar Lagudali, Life Pointe worship guy and Phil Stacey)

According to Dialidol.com, Phil Stacey is getting the 3rd most votes right now.  He was great tonight.  But, the judges didn't give him his due.  Keep slamming in your votes.  Phil has a real shot at the top tier. 

By the way, did anyone else think Sanjaya looked like the Mickey Mouse Sinatra cartoon character?  Blake Lewis looks like a young Bono. And, during Chris Richardson's song, the trumpet player was using a toilet plunger for his mute.  Weird.

tags - american idol - phil stacey - sanjaya malakar - blake lewis - bono - chris richardson

Getting ready to vote 866-IDOLS-06.

tagged: phil stacey - american idol 

Phil Stacey is about 3 years younger than me.  I don't know him well.  But, we went to the same school and are connected by a ton of mutual friends.  For instance, our music guy at Life Pointe, Omar Lagudali was in Lee Singers with Phil.

Last week, Phil was in the bottom 3 of vote getters on AI.  He needs your votes to go to the TOP 10.  This is important.  The Top 10 goes on tour together.  It would be HUGE for Phil's career.  As a fellow alum of Lee University, I'd like to see him do well.  Maybe he'd be more famous than some of our other music alums like Scott Stapp of Creed, The Avalon people, 4 Him, etc... 

Tonight, I am going to watch AI.  Then, I am going to repeatedly text/call my vote for Phil.  Lee students and Alumni are going to try to deliver 1,000,000 votes.  I am going to try and do 100 votes myself.  My wife will do some.  And, I am hoping that you will crank in some votes for Phil as well.  What say you?

Check out some of the Phil Stacey conversations and make up your mind:

tagged phil stacey - coaching troubled idols - AI Phil Stacey - PS Not Good Enough

Phil Stacey (Lee U. alum) rocked it tonight. 1-866-IDOLS-12 to vote for the bald guy.  Chris Sligh from Seacoast Church rocked as well (Seacoast talks about it on their blog here).  The Blake guy with spiked hair was spot on.

Survivor's latest gimmick to boost its slumping ratings proves even more disastrous turning in its worst opening rating so far.  It pains me to say this about my formerly favorite reality show but, I'm glad.  The concept was short sighted and more poorly thought out than the slumping gimmicks of ER.

tagged: survivor - Reality TV

I'm a pretty big Reality TV fan.  Contender and the Ultimate Fighter are by far my favorites.  Survivor is next on the list.  For the past 6 years, we have had Survivor Night in our home.  Friends and Family come over and we watch and hang out.

Well, CBS just announced that Surivivor 13- Cook Islands will be dividing the contestants into four racially divided teams (asians, blacks, whites, latinos).  The Bullwinkle Blog quoted Rush Limbaugh as saying, he "was amazed that CBS would use this format. knowing full well that at the end of the show, one and only one, is going to be declared “ the bestâ€, “the winnerâ€.  The other three will be losers……  all identified by their race."

Rachel S. of Alas, a Blog says, "I know this is largely a publicity stunt for the show, and my main problem is that the publicity surrounding the show may inadvertantly promote the idea that people are more strongly divided by race than they really are."

So, is this the "Jim Crow, Back of the Bus Survivor" or an ingenious idea on the part of CBS to boost sagging ratings of a formerly cool show?  Your thoughts?

Technorati Tags: Survivor 13 - CBS - Rush Limbaugh - Jeff Probst - Reality TV