Drama When a Wannabe King Comes to Town

What a joy getting home from work was yesterday! It took me 45 minutes longer than usual. Why you ask? Wannabe "King George" was in town for a fundraiser. And, of course, why not land at 4:30 in the middle of rush hour and completely close off a major freeway?? Particularly in a city where we are already down one major freeway because of a bridge collapse. I knew "King George" was coming, but had no idea what time, so I happily started my trip home. I get off 35W on the 76th Street Exit (which is actually 77th Street but who cares). Normally there isn't much traffic on 77th when I get off, but last night it was very slow. I figured there was probably a traffic light out because of all the thunderstorms lately. I eventually cross Lyndale Avenue...that light is working fine but the right turn lane isn't moving. Hmmm....I think. After sitting in stop-and-go traffic I finally cross Nicollet Avenue..that light is also working, but I notice people in the left lane are making U-turns. Okay, I figure they are just type-A personalities who are impatient. Between Nicollet Avenue and Portland Avenue the traffic came to a total and complete stop, a virtual parking lot, and there are oodles of cars turning onto 77th from small sidestreets to my right where there is rarely any traffic. Now it's starting to dawn on me that something is amiss. Are we without power again? Is there major gridlock somewhere? I called home only to be told by Chuck that ALL city streets CROSSING I-494 were closed and that I-494 itself was closed because of "King George". So there I sat...nowhere to go. I couldn't get home because I had to cross over I-494 and NO streets were open to allow me to do that. Just as I was about to completely lose my patience, I saw that a bus had turned onto Portland Avenue and it appeared to be moving. YAY!!! "King George" was going to allow me to get home! Now, don't you think it would have made sense to let people know earlier in the day that the streets would be closed? If I had known, I could have decided to stop at Borders and browse or meet Chuck somewhere for dinner. Instead I sat in a traffic jam fuming. My head hurts.....

Stepping Outside the Box

I've decided to attempt something new and have joined the Hogwarts Sock Kit Swap. I'm an avid Harry Potter fan and this sounded like something fun to do. Not sure what it's all about yet, but I'm sure I'll learn. Oh....I'm a first year Ravenclaw. Where's Hermoine when I need her? And when do I get my wand?

Variety of Stitches

I have gotten in the mood to knit after visiting a wonderful yarn shop in Buffalo last weekend. Debbie discovered a fun pattern for a scarf she wanted to knit and I decided I needed it as well. The yarn is soft and fantastic to work with. I've never had to follow a diagramed knitting pattern before so I ended up ripping it all out a couple times. Finally Debbie came to the rescue and emailed me the pattern in "normal" knitting terms. SO much easier! I am planning on taking the scarf to Scotland with me when Aimee and I go in September. You never know about that Scottish weather!

And here is how far I've gotten on Ellie's Christmas stocking. I stitched this for her a couple years ago. I have a gorgeous silk for the back and a matching lining fabric, plus cording for around the stocking. I went to put the stocking together for her two years ago so she could could hang it on the fireplace in their new house, only to discover that the bag contained the silk, lining fabric, cording, thread...BUT NO STITCHED PIECE! I have searched this house from top to bottom, back to front. I've been through every bag, box, drawer, shelf I can find and no stitched piece. So, what does a grandmother do for her first granchild??? She stitches it again! Yeah, nuts, I know. But the stocking is SO Ellie and I want her to have a stocking she can keep forever. Plus...I have to do another stocking for her baby sister who is due December 1st. I don't think that one will be done in time.

MN Needlework Guild Annual Retreat

This past weekend I attended the MN Needlework Guild Annual Retreat. Actually I was there for 5 days, and could have stayed much much longer. I guess time flies when you're having fun. We laughed until we cried, stitched until we couldn't see straight, and ate until our stomaches ached. My friend Debbie and I were lucky to be put in an independent study room with 4 friends...what a pleasant surprise for us all. We didn't end up with some of the personality squabbles that some rooms experienced. Our room posted the "rules" that conversation was encouraged, rowdy was required and wearing orange was strictly prohibited.


I only took one class this year...blackwork taught by Marion Scolar. I enjoyed the class immensely and even managed to finish the class project (see above). Marion is such a Lady (capital L intentional) and an incredible teacher. One of the first things she taught was that it didn't matter what the back of your work looked like...it wasn't meant to be looked at! She is English and graduated from the Royal School of Needlework. She's been teaching needlework for 50 years, which was so hard to believe. She said she gets irritated with American stitchers who believe the back of the work must be as neat as the front...and I admit I am very guilty of that.

The theme for next year's retreat will be mermaids. I love all the mermaid charts available and am already looking for something to make a mermaid name tag. I am also going to attempt to do a Little Mermaid blackwork piece to enter into the "best use of the theme" competition. I had already thought of stitching something from Little Mermaid for my granddaughter's new bedroom since she LOVES Ariel. I have a coloring book of Princesses I got at Disneyland and there are some great Ariel images in there I think I can use. We'll see!!!

Marion told a great story during class. When she first started teaching she taught in a very, very rough section of London where most of the girls were older than her, were the illegitimate children of American soldiers and English women, and most of the girls were prostitutes. They could out swear most men! One day she had reached her limit with the coarse language so she told them that vegetables were much more effective. She slammed her fist on the table and yelled PEA PODS! Most more explosive....SPINACH! I guess it got their attention and all weekend when we were frogging stitches we'd used explosive vegetables!

And, somewhere along the way, I think I lost my mind and might have voluteered to co-chair the 2010 retreat. Actually, I said I'd seriously consider it. We did spend an evening brainstorming in our room and have decided that the theme will probably be peacocks...unless someone takes that theme in 2009. Heaven help me!! What have I gotten myself into!

Cake or Death

This is one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time...the combination of one of Eddie Izzard's funniest skits and legos.

Family History Update

I recently attended the Midwest Scrapbook Association convention in St. Paul. One of the workshops I took was on making heritage pages since I really want to put together a heritage scrapbook to share with my family. This is a page I made using the wedding photo of my grandparents Lillian and Sam Ege. They were married on February 20, 1925. According to a handwritten book my Grandmother gave me, it wasn't a big wedding. They went to Moorhead, MN and only their 2 attendants were present. She wore a "beautiful blue dress" and "We has very little money so spent two days in Fargo. We ate at nice eating places, went to movies, drove around and saw interesting places which to us was very special. We hadn't been to Fargo before so to us it was exciting."

I have been doing a lot of family research the past 9 months. Yesterday I met with a distant cousin for the first time. His grandfather and my great-grandfather were brothers. My great-grandfather, Hans Ege, immigrated to the US in 1893. Reinert, whom I met with yesterday, came to the US when he was 11 years old; he's now 87. His father, Sam, had immigrated a few years earlier. Reinert was aware that there was a relative who was a "farmer in North Dakota" but he'd never met him; he'd only met Gustav, the brother who had settled in Duluth. He wasn't even aware that Hans had another brother, Tonnes, who settled in western North Dakota or a sister, Martina, who married and eventually settled in the Monterey, CA, area. He did have lots of wonderful photographs of family members in Norway, including one of the family patriarch, Sem, on the family farm in 1907. There were several photos he had gotten from cousins in Norway and he asked me if I could identify any of them. By process of elimination, I think we figured out that one of them was Tonnes Ege who none of us had ever seen. Reinert is still in touch with cousins in Norway and will be contacting them for more information. I am hoping that I can get some names and addresses of some of these cousins in Norway to further my research.

At the same time, I've been contacted by another distanct cousin in Wisconsin who is related through my Irish great-grandparents. My great-grandfather and her grand-mother were brother and sister. I knew very little about this side of my family since my parents divorced when I was small. I never knew many on my father's side. In fact, until starting this research I never knew I was 25% Irish or that my great-grandmother, Elizabeth Hogan Delaney, was born and raised about 10 miles from where I presently live.

Don't Forget To Say I Love You

Yesterday was a horrendous day for the City of Minneapolis with the collapse of the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River. At this point there are 4 reported dead, including a 60-year-old professional women who was the mother of two college daughters and a 29-year-old Hispanic man who left 3 small children surviving in Mexico and an infant in Minnesota. Names and faces are being put to those who died. There are also 20-30 people unaccounted for. The divers are having problems getting to the submerged cars because of strong currents in the river. They are using the locks to try and lower the river level, but they aren't able to get it low enough. On top of that there is bent and twisted metal both above and below the water, and the bridge is still shifting.

When I was first married, I drove that bridge at least twice daily because we lived near the University of Minnesota. We've all driven that road to get to the northern parts of the city. People traveled over that bridge daily to get to downtown Minneapolis to work, to go to sporting events and concerts, to enjoy theatre events and restaurants.

This photo was taken last fall of Aimee and I with Aimee's friends Robin and Debbie. We took a segway tour and are stopped on the Stone Arch Bridge, an historic stone bridge. In the background is the Central Avenue Bridge; we are facing the I-35W bridge that collapsed. The Mississippi River is criss crossed with bridges. Tonight there is one less. I've been on the verge of tears all day. As I drove to work this morning on I-35W the sign over the freeway read "road closed at 94". I read that and my stomach turned one more time as my eyes held back the tears. I've watched disasters on TV in the past and felt sorry for those involved, but to recognize the area where a disaster happens and to know that possibly someone you know could have been on that bridge, was almost more than I wanted to bear.

Were those people able to tell their friends and families that they loved them? Did they leave home without saying I'm sorry? Did they think I'll take care of it tomorrow? We never know when our time will come. So I want to always remember to take the time to tell those close to me that I love them and value them.

STITCHING UPDATE

I have recently put the finishing stitches in two Loose Feather projects. I really like the blackbirds/cherries project. The colors are so vibrant and the blackbirds seem to have such arrogant personalities.

Unfortunately, I'm not as fond of the "grape" project (as I call it). The colors are just too muted for my taste. I did love doing all the grape eyelets though.

I get all the Loose Feather projects automatically from Shakespeare's Peddler and I can proudly say that I am getting each of them stitched before the next one comes. I've even framed a couple. I do my own framing as long as I don't use a mat. I haven't learned to cut mats yet but it's something I'd like to learn. Maybe I could go into my own framing business....hmmm.

Now I'm anxiously awaiting the newest Loose Feather. It looks like one I will enjoy.

One of the things I enjoy most, other than the shows and the city itself, at the Montreal Just for Laughs Comedy Festival are the street performers. This year we saw some marvelous living statutes...or whatever they call themselves. The angel and gargoyles were truly incredible. They were on stilts and wandered through the crowds with ease. They gargoyles would chase people and then all of a sudden all 3 (gargoyles and angel) would stop and strike a pose...usually of the angel slaying the gargoyles.

My favorite, though, was the female angel. She was absolutelybeautiful....so calm and serene with a mischiveous grin. People could go up to her and have a photo taken. Three little children went up and stood in front of her. What they weren't aware of was that that the angel moved and made rabbit ears behind their heads. I'm sure the children will be surprised to see that! Someone brought a baby to her and the angel squated down and took the baby in her arms. It was gorgeous!

JUST FOR LAUGHS COMEDY FESTIVAL

I spent last weekend in Montreal at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival. Among other things, my friend Maria and I saw Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood on Friday night, followed by Eddie Izzard. Eddie added a second show at the last minute so we were able to get tickets and see him again on Saturday night. We got autographs and photos both nights as well. I was lucky to be able to thank him in person for the email he sent my nephew Brandon 18 months ago after Brandon's horrendous car accident and Eddie remembered sending it. I asked if I could give him a hug to thank him and he said, "Of course." He is truly a very nice, compassionate person ~ as well as one funny guy!

8th Grade Education in 1895

Show this to kids who think they know everything. What it took to get an 8th grade education in 1895...

Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895?

This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina , Kansas , USA . It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina , and reprinted by the Salina Journal. 8th Grade Final Exam: Salina , KS -1895

Grammar (Time, one hour)

1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.

2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.

3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph

4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of "lie,""play," and "run."

5. Define case; illustrate each case.

6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punction.

7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time,1 hour 15 minutes)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.

2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?

3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. for tare?

4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?

5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.

6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.

7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $20 per metre?

8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.

9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?

10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt

U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided

2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus .

3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.

4. Show the territorial growth of the United States

5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas .

6. Describe three of the most prominent b attles of the Rebellion.

7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton , Bell , Lincoln , Penn, and Howe?

8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour) [Do we even know what this is??]

1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication

2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?

3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals

4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.' (HUH?)

5 Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.

6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.

7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.

8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, f are, last. 9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane , vain, vei n, raze, r aise, rays.

10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

Geography (Time, one hour)

1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?

2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ?

3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?

4. Describe the mountains of North America

5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa , Denver , Manitoba , Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco ..

6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.

7. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.

8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?

9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete.

Gives the saying "he only had an 8th grade education" a whole new meaning, doesn't it?!

Also shows you how poor our education system has become! and, NO! I don't have the answers!

Stitching Update

This is a recent tabletopper I finished stitching. It's by Dutch Treat and is one of my favorites. The chart called for stitching it all in red, but since red wouldn't go with anything I have, I decided to do it in a more friendly color. This one is called Java and is in browns, black and pinks...very pretty. I liked stitching this tabletopper because each square was different, unlike all the others I have done.

And on a more humorous note, I have proof in my garden that there are such things as male tomatoes!

Another Monday

Bah humbug...another Monday. As much as I like my boss, I really hate coming into work, particularly on Mondays. I so need a new job with new challenges, but I'm not going to make any changes until after Aimee and I get back from Scotland. I have a good thing going now with only working 4 days a week, being able to take days off whenever I want and get paid for them, being able to be late (this morning it was 20 minutes) and not getting in trouble. I'm just burned out in this job. I have so many other things I'd like to be doing with my time. Our lease is up on our office at the end of February 2008 and I'm thinking that my boss may retire at that time.

On a more positive note, I spent Friday and Saturday at the Midwest Scrapbook Convention in St. Paul. It was held at RiverCentre which is huge so there was lots and lots of space to get into the booths (where I spent too much money, of course). I took 3 classes which were all fun ~ and I won doorprizes in 2 of the classes., something that NEVER happens! One of the classes was using normal office supplies when scrapbooking and it was a lot of fun. I wanted to make a beeline to Office Max!! They used name badge holders tied together with a ribbon as additional photo holders or journaling pages. I also took a heritage class in which we made 4 - 12x12 pages plus a magnetic canvas. I loved that class and got so many great ideas for making the heritage album I intend to make as a result of my family research. And I found Lego brads which will be fun for all the photos I have of Tony and his Legos, followed closely by photos of Ellie at the Lego Store at Mall of America.

Sunday I spent a good portion of the afternoon stripping wallpaper from the kitchen walls. I'm so glad I thought to put sizing on the walls before I hung the wallpaper oh so many years ago. It's making stripping it fairly easy. Unfortunately I ran out of stripper solution so I had to quit. It was almost harder cleaning up the mess afterwards than stripping the wallpaper itself. I have the paint for the kitchen walls. I'm hoping it is the color I want....kind of a cafe au lait color. We have picked out the silestone we want to use for the new kitchen counters. Now to decide on a sink and fixtures, whether to paint the cupboards or not, etc. In the end, whatever we decide on will be a definite improvement! Then it's on to painting the exterior of the house.

Happy Birthday to Me

Yesterday was my birthday. My birthday present from Tony and Darcy was tickets to the Children's Theatre for Ellie and me to see High School Musical. I had originally planned to take the day off, but at 400 on Monday my boss got a call from an attorney on the other side of a divorce proceeding and we needed to have a Marital Termination Agreement prepared for signature on Tuesday (and in the end it didn't happen anyway) so I volunteered to come in until noon. I got the MTA done and then went to Lakeville to pick up Ellie. She was wearing the High School Musical shirt I bought her at Disneyland and was so proud of herself! We headed off to the Children's Theatre. She was so excited because she loves High School Musical and because we got to spend the afternoon together. We had seats in the 4th row and really enjoyed the performance. Darcy takes her there a lot so she knows the routine. She was telling me that there was a "little break" and we could get cookies. So when intermission came, she headed right for the cookies! After the show, I bought her Sharpay, one of the dolls (the size of a Barbie). She was so excited! As we were leaving I told her that was the best birthday present I had ever had and she said, "I knew you would say that. Sometimes I think I'm a genius." We decided to stop at Target on the way home and get the movie. Ellie then decided that we should see if they have more dolls because if we got the Gabriella and Troy combo then we could have a "mom, dad and sister". She has everything figured out!! And at Target we did find the movie and Gabriella and Troy. As we were leaving Target she was beaming from ear to ear and she said it was a High School Musical day. She got a shirt, she got to see the play, she got 3 dolls and she got a movie. It was almost her "best day ever."

We then went back to our house where Chuck was busy grilling. He made hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken breasts; he had picked up some salads and a birthday cake from Cold Stone. Tony and Darcy arrived shortly after we got there. During dinner Ellie decided that she and I would celebrate my birthday together every year ~ and next year we'll celebrate it at Disneyland! Tony and Darcy were laughing so hard that Darcy had tears rolling down her face.

Besides the Children's Theatre tickets, Aimee sent me a BEAUTIFUL bouquet of pink, white and lavender roses with a balloon; Erik gave me a gift certificate to Coldwater Creek; and Chuck gave me a 5-ticket package for the Minnesota Vikings including the Green Bay game. Erik also gave me his Blackjack phone which he has only had about 2 months because he got an iPhone. Chuck said if he could have found an iPhone he would have gotten me that because I really want one. I had so much fun playing with Erik's.

So I had a nice birthday. Tonight Erik and I are going to see Harry Potter. I've seen all of the movies on opening day and didn't want to break the tradition.

OH...I got a call from Ellie this morning to tell me that she's going to have a sister!!

I COLLECT COLORS

I read recently in my friend Jenn's blog that she liked colors and that got me thinking. The more I thought about it, the more I became aware that I also love colors. The best part of school starting each year was when I got my new box of Crayolas, and to this day I love opening the boxes in the store just to look at the rows of different colors. Whenever Crayola comes out with a "new" collection, I want a new box of my own.

The last couple days I have been working on sewing crafter's aprons (a take-off on carpenter's aprons) which I will (hopefully) sell at my table at the Minnesota Needlework Guild retreat in August. In preparation, I started going through the bins of fabric I have collected over the years (or in some cases inherited!) and realized how much I love just handling the fabric and looking at all the shades of color. I washed up oodles and oodles of pieces and, being conscious of the heat and the demand for electricity, I hung all the fabrics on the clothesline to dry. I found myself being drawn to the window or door to just look out at all the colors floating in the gentle breeze. Fortunately I am finding a use for some of the wonderful pieces of fabric I've collected. The question is...how much of it can I stand to part with?

That got me thinking about the massive amount of paper I have accumulated for scrapbooking and how, again, I love to just lay it out, sort it by color or design or whatever. And again I am atrracted to the colors. I love buttons and floss and fibers and paint swatches and beads.

So, yes, I think I am in love with color!

HAPPY 4th OF JULY!!

So far today, after making the requisite run to Starbucks for my daily caffeine, I have spent cooking. I haven't quite figured out how I end up spending half a day in the kitchen for a meal at someone else's house, but it seems to happen. Darcy wanted me to make potato salad since she says my potato salad is the "world's best". It's just potato salad...nothing special. I just make it the way my grandmother taught me to make it. Then I made a new "fruit surprise" for Ellie. This one is made with lemon pie filling and Cool Whip ~ and all the fruit I could pack in. I thought a lemon fruit surprise would be a refreshing change. And, since Tony is planning on grilling chicken breasts, I made baked cinnamon apples for Ellie, a la Famous Dave's, her favorite restaurant. Nothing was complicated; it just all took time. Now we're off to Tony and Darcy's for food, fun and fireworks!

FAMILY WEDDING?

Today we got a call from Chuck's brother, Kamel, in Tunisia. He asked how old Aimee was. After Chuck told him, Kamel said he was going to send a photo of his son and we could arrange a marriage between Aimee and his son. He thought that was a good idea! So...I guess it's time to start planning a wedding. Couscous or wedding cake? And...where will the happy couple live? More importantly, how many family members will Aimee have to support?

TO DO LIST

It's summer so that means home improvements! My to do list so far:
1. Strip wallpaper in kitchen
2. Get new countertop
3. Do something about a new back splash...haven't decided what I want
4. Paint kitchen
5. Cabinets?? Paint, leave alone, replace??
6. Repaint exterior of house
7. Get window shutters
8. Paint bedrooms (2)
9. Organize Halloween, Christmas and Easter decorations (or at least get them back in the correct boxes)
That's a good weekend start, don't you think?

FAMILY HISTORY

I recently read a quote something to the effect that a family tree will wither and die if its roots aren't tended. I guess that is what I am doing in my family research ~ tending the roots of the family tree. In the process I have made some wonderful discoveries and am meeting distant relatives I didn't know I had. I have learned I am of 25% Irish ancestry, which I didn't know prior to starting my research. I thought I had 1 Irish great-great-grandfather, only to learn that my father's side of the family is almost 100% Irish and one family lived in Burnsville, MN and donated the land for the first school in Burnsville. They owned much of the land around what is now Burnsville High School.

I have been contacted by a second cousin once removed on my father's Irish side. Her grandmother and my great-grandfather (Charles Hawkins) were brother and sister. She still lives in Richmond, WI, where the family settled. She has been doing research for over 20 years and has lots of photos and stories. We are making plans to meet sometime this summer.

I have also been contacted by two daughters of my Great-Grandmother's (Emma Kjorven Christopher) sisters on my mother's side. Again, I didn't know they even existed. I have corresponded with the grandson of my Great-Grandfather's (Hans Ege) sister in CA. And I have even discovered distant Ege relations living right here in Minneapolis.

I hope I can continue to add roots and leaves to this family tree. It definitely gives me a sense of where my family came from and how their lives continue to influence me to this day.

The travesty of American Idol

I have decided that from this point on I am voting OFTEN for Sanjaya. Yes, I am joining the Votefortheworst crowd. After last night's show and the elimination of Gina, one of the truly talented women on the show, it is apparent that the show is NOT intended to be a singing competition at all. I am genuinely disappointed in the show this year. Last year produced so many talented performers in many different genres; this year it seems to be more of a personality/appearance competition. So many of the judge's comments are about how the contestants look, what they're wearing, how they're wearing their hair, etc. Yet, Simon smurkingly says "This is a singing competition." WRONG! If it were a singing competition, Stephanie, Chris and Gina would still be there...Sanjaya would have been gone. Sanjaya is a cute 17-year-old high school student who is living a dream right now. He's having fun and is having his 5 minutes of fame. But there is no way he should be in the top 8! So, at this point, I'm going to work to make him the winner. Then let's see the smurk on Simon's face!