Vote For the Worst Changes American Idol Forever

Anyone familiar with American Idol and that is just about anyone who is not living underneath a rock is familiar with the staying power of Sanjaya Malakar. The seventeen year old has become famous for his ability to stay in the talent contest although he possesses the weakest singing voice, thanks to campaigns from websites like Vote for the Worst, and the backing of media powerhouse Howard Stern.

The grassroots campaign to keep the mediocre singer within the contest have increased the popularity of the show with stories running in popular celebrity weeklies such as Star Magazine and the National Enquirer, and scores of stories on television. According to the show, they received their highest number of votes this season, 33 million, probably due in part to the Malakar controversy.

Simon Cowell, usually the most truthful of the judges has vowed to quit if the young singer wins. In fact most of us will lose if Malakar actually wins, because I cannot think of anyone who would actually buy an album created by the creaking voiced crooner.

The present controversy does shed some light on the weakness of the American Idol system. While it was the premise for Americans to vote for the person they felt was most talented, those with less than altruistic motives can affect the results of the show if they have a big enough following. Perhaps it is time that the creators of American Idol address this by making some much needed changes on how the contest winner is chosen.

Another fan favorite show, Dancing with the Stars, allows both the audience and judges to have a say so in the outcome of the show which should equal the playing field for contestants. However, this too does have its problems as the celebrities with the biggest fan bases sometimes seem to garner the lions share of votes. In the past season country singer Sarah Evans continued to plod along week after week even though she was by far the least talented of the performers, at least in the dancing department. A large contingency of country music fans tuned in to vote for her every single week and she only left the contest after issues in her personal life arose.

Though the system is flawed, there is a much better chance of getting a better winner when both judges and fans have a say in the outcome. Contestants who have large fan bases, or get large amounts of sympathy votes cannot guarantee an overall win. The same thing can be said for a contestant who just does not seem to strike the fancy of the judges, and can be sent packing prematurely though they deserve to stay and compete.

Judges are after all people and they will of course have their favorites. Dancing with the Stars message boards have been lit up with the prospect that the judges have been much too kind to former NBA star Clyde Drexler though his dancing has improved very little since the onset of the season. The voters of course can take him to task and can create a level playing field. The same can be said for American Idol.

It is doubtful that many would have remembered Sanjaya Malakar after this season of American Idol. However, now he will either be known as the face of the person that killed Idol, or the reason that the rules were chanced. Either way, Malakar has helped to change the television show American Idol forever.

celebrities honor american icons by a Photoshoot made by Glamour magazine in which the following celebs features several american icons: Lindsay Lohan as Madonna Alicia Keys as Michelle Obama Hayden Panettiere as Amelia Earhart Alexis Bledel as Rosie The riveter America Ferrera as Dolores Huerta Camilla Belle as Mary Tyler Moore Emma Roberts as Audrey Hepburn Chanel Iman as Althea Gibson Elisha Cuthbert as Brandi Chastain Emma Stone as Carrie Bradshaw Paula Patton as Billie Holiday Women of Woodstock PLEASE COMMENT AND RATE!SUSCRIBE!WATCH MY VIDEOS!!XOXO ANITA!

“American Cuisine”!!! What on earth is that?? The Americans don’t have any cuisine they can call their own. That is the typical response of any gourmand and connoisseur of food, who considers himself knowledgeable and informed. But is such a sweeping dismissal true?? Granted the food that we know today as coming from the continent of America is not really indigenous to the people of America, nonetheless the fact remains that food brought by the immigrants from their home countries have been assimilated and Americanized, so much so that now, one can state with conviction that yes, there is an American cuisine that is typical to America alone.

In actual fact, if one delves a bit into the history underlying American recipes and cuisine, one realizes that what unfolds is a time line of American history. We get a sweeping overview of the various stages in the history of the American nation when immigrants from different countries came to America in droves and were amalgamated and assimilated into a part of the mainstream of American life.

The original inhabitants of America were the Native Americans, popularized in novels and films as tomahawk toting, feathered headdress sporting ‘Red Indians’. They were a simple tribal people who grew their own corn, squash and beans. Ironically, even till today, somehow the influence of these three products remains on the variety of American cuisines available across the country. They are ubiquitously present as grits and cornbread in the South, baked beans in the North and tortillas and pinto beans in the Southwest. The next influx of immigrants was the African Americans, and I for one personally feel, the quintessential American barbeque is entirely to their credit. Smoked meats began their journey on the American palate with them.

Lifestyles too led to the molding of certain kinds of American cuisine. Thus the gracious plantation owner’s wife helped by an astounding array of cooks and underlings, most of whom were slaves pre Civil war, led to Southern cooking being elaborate. The meals were long and there were plenty of side dishes, condiments and varieties of breads and biscuits. It was a way of life to have leisurely meals with many courses and this lifestyle helped create many of the Southern recipes in American Cuisines. Typical dishes being pork, smoked hams with biscuits dripping gravy and the fried chicken that has been popularized by the omnipresent Kentucky Fried Chicken in cities worldwide.

The French too left their imprint on American cuisines. In fact both Cajun and Creole cooking are heavily influenced by the French reliance on butter, oil and flour, which gives the dishes a ‘roux’ taste that is so typically French in its flavor. Creole food has a more cosmopolitan flavor having influences from other French colonies creeping in. Cajun food on the other hand simmers slowly for a long time in the pot, the food cooking slowly in its own juices. Thus we have the sublimely delicious prawn etoufees and gumbos.

The Mexican nation too heavily influenced American cuisine. Of course the proximity as well as the large numbers of Mexican immigrants also added to the impact.  ‘Guacamole’, ‘ chili’, ‘tamales’, ‘enchiladas’ all these are terms Spanish in origin which the Mexicans brought with them to influence American Cuisine. In fact ‘Salsa’ is not just a popular dance form, it is now universally popular over the world as a spicy tomato and chili dip.

And Mama Mia, when one speaks of American Cuisine can one ever dream of leaving out the pastas and pizzas of the Italians. They brought sun dried tomatoes and pizza bread to this continent and today no American teenager worth his salt would claim ignorance to the difference between pepperoni and margarita toppings. Spaghetti and meat sauce still continues to be a staple of most American children growing up across the nation.

With the arrival of Chinese laborers came Chinese food and soon “American Chop Suey” became a part of the Chinese menu in restaurants worldwide. Can one imagine no Chinese takeout in cartons!! Half on America’s corporate populace survive on Chinese takeaway meals and TV dinners.

South east Asian recipes are a recent addition to American cuisine but chutney, poppadums and tandoori are now familiar terms in the American chef’s lexicon. Bangladeshi food, Vietnamese food, Thai curries….the list is endless the possibilities are always expanding. As the country continues to be a symbol of hope and success to the immigrant the parameters of American cuisine and cooking keeps constantly changing. And I really don’t think the American people are complaining!!

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Melissa Etheridge has long been known as an artist who produces music that fits the core of what many consider “American Rock and Roll.” Her style combines folk, blues, rock and roll and searing guitar melodies that cut to the soul. Her wide-ranging style has captured the hearts and ears of millions of fans and Etheridge is returning to the stage in the summer of 2006. A look at her life will at least partially explain how her style came to be.

Early Life

Etheridge was born in Leavenworth, Kansas on May 29, 1961. She almost immediately became involved with music, as she learned to play the guitar at the age of eight and began writing music shortly thereafter. She played in a series of local bands through her teen-age years and was accepted into the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston after high school.

Etheridge stayed at Berklee for only one year and she dropped out to play in and around Boston for a time before making her way to Southern California in the early 1980′s. She spent her time producing demo tapes, and was discovered by Bill Leopold, who got her steady work at a series of gigs in the Los Angeles area.

Career Highlights

Etheridge’s regular performances at the Executive Suite in Long Beach got her noticed by record companies and her talent led to a bidding war between A&M, Capitol, EMI, and Warner Bros. Etheridge ultimately decided to sign with Island Records and she immediately began producing albums.

Her first studio work, entitled Melissa Etheridge, went multi-platinum and four singles released from this work climbed into the Billboard charts. Her second release, Brave and Crazy, got as high as number 22 on the album charts and had three singles earn spots in the Billboard charts.

Since then, Etheridge has released seven subsequent albums, with two more, Yes I Am in 1993 and Your Little Secret in 1995 going multi-platinum. In all, Etheridge’s albums have sold over 27 million copies worldwide and her music is as recognizable as any artist in her era.

Personal Causes

Etheridge is only slightly-less known for her personal causes as she is for her music. Perhaps her most famous “cause” was her courageous decision to reveal her homosexuality during President Clinton’s inauguration ceremonies in 1993. Since then, she has been an avid supporter for gay rights and is as recognizable as any star for this cause in the world.

Etheridge has also performed for countless benefits, including such causes as Hurricane Katrina relief, the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Etheridge is widely known for giving her time, money, talents and platform as a star to bring attention to the causes in which she believes, no matter how controversial.

This bravery has only enhanced her standing with her fans and music lovers alike and it speaks to the nature of her musical style – honest, open, heartfelt and sincere. She will no doubt continue to perform for her causes and she is sure to bring a crowd wherever she appears.

Rammed earth homes offer an eco friendly way of living. It is a technology which was used thousands of years ago as exemplified by the Great Wall of China and continues up to the present. It resembles adobe construction in that they both use soil mixed with waterproofing additives. Rammed earth however offers the advantage of not needing dry weather for the hardening of bricks with its soil and cement mixture which is a limitation of adobe. Rammed earth is applicable to any style of building. It is resistant to wind, fire, rain, and termites. It also stores the heat from the sun during winter months and blocks it during summer.  

Rammed Earth Solar Homes Inc. is an Arizona based company founded by Quentin Branch, a former organic farmer and physics teacher. The company is backed up by thirty-three years of experience in coming up with innovative and earth-friendly sculptural architectural designs ranging from custom homes to churches and public art projects    .

It also specializes in passive solar designs and rammed earth wall construction and offers technical consultation on such projects with architects and engineers world-wide. Rammed Earth Solar Homes Inc. is renowned for its designs which have grazed at least forty-five magazines worldwide including the March 2009 issue of Metropolitan Home magazine featuring ten inside pages, have been cited in newspapers such as New York Times and Wall Street Journal, and have been mentioned in nine books. One of the company’s constructions, a thirty-eight-square-foot television studio, was named one of the top eighteen architectural achievements in Arizona. It also boasts of constructing the one of the first ever rammed earth homes in Aspen, Colorado. Among the many awards received by the company are 2000 House of the Year given by the American Institute of Architects and 2000 President’s Award by the American Consulting Engineers Association.

Branch has taken his passion of teaching and offers “Rammit Yourself Workshops” in designing a home for passive solar function, reviewing earth building principles, choosing and testing materials, preparing earth mixes, and forming, tamping, and stripping walls.
Rammed Earth Solar Homes Inc. offers sustainable building from the ground up, literally and figuratively.

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Anyone familiar with American Idol and that is just about anyone who is not living underneath a rock is familiar with the staying power of Sanjaya Malakar. The seventeen year old has become famous for his ability to stay in the talent contest although he possesses the weakest singing voice, thanks to campaigns from websites like Vote for the Worst, and the backing of media powerhouse Howard Stern.

The grassroots campaign to keep the mediocre singer within the contest have increased the popularity of the show with stories running in popular celebrity weeklies such as Star Magazine and the National Enquirer, and scores of stories on television. According to the show, they received their highest number of votes this season, 33 million, probably due in part to the Malakar controversy.

Simon Cowell, usually the most truthful of the judges has vowed to quit if the young singer wins. In fact most of us will lose if Malakar actually wins, because I cannot think of anyone who would actually buy an album created by the creaking voiced crooner.

The present controversy does shed some light on the weakness of the American Idol system. While it was the premise for Americans to vote for the person they felt was most talented, those with less than altruistic motives can affect the results of the show if they have a big enough following. Perhaps it is time that the creators of American Idol address this by making some much needed changes on how the contest winner is chosen.

Another fan favorite show, Dancing with the Stars, allows both the audience and judges to have a say so in the outcome of the show which should equal the playing field for contestants. However, this too does have its problems as the celebrities with the biggest fan bases sometimes seem to garner the lions share of votes. In the past season country singer Sarah Evans continued to plod along week after week even though she was by far the least talented of the performers, at least in the dancing department. A large contingency of country music fans tuned in to vote for her every single week and she only left the contest after issues in her personal life arose.

Though the system is flawed, there is a much better chance of getting a better winner when both judges and fans have a say in the outcome. Contestants who have large fan bases, or get large amounts of sympathy votes cannot guarantee an overall win. The same thing can be said for a contestant who just does not seem to strike the fancy of the judges, and can be sent packing prematurely though they deserve to stay and compete.

Judges are after all people and they will of course have their favorites. Dancing with the Stars message boards have been lit up with the prospect that the judges have been much too kind to former NBA star Clyde Drexler though his dancing has improved very little since the onset of the season. The voters of course can take him to task and can create a level playing field. The same can be said for American Idol.

It is doubtful that many would have remembered Sanjaya Malakar after this season of American Idol. However, now he will either be known as the face of the person that killed Idol, or the reason that the rules were chanced. Either way, Malakar has helped to change the television show American Idol forever.

The weight loss program called Cabbage Soup Diet is designed for heavy consumption of low-calorie soups during the entire 7 days. Although seen by a lot of people as “fad diet,” this plan have been tried by a number of famous people like models, celebrities and flight attendants. In fact, there have been numerous testimonials for this diet program.

One of those people who tried this program is Melissa Browne from Fox News.com, Health Section. She says that she lost 5 pounds when she went through the diet for one week.

Origins

No one truly knows where Cabbage Soup Diet originated. Some historians say that this diet plan is a good example of an urban legend – like a modern folklore that is passed through e-mail, photocopies, or word of mouth.

According to American Dietetic Association, this diet plan was first identified around 1950 (though it may date back earlier). After that, it was revived during early 1980s as “Dolly Parton Diet” and “TWA (Trans World Airlines) Diet.”

In the middle of 1990s, Cabbage Soup Diet reappeared. Due to modern technology like fax machines and the internet, this diet has spread worldwide. In fact, it was even published in magazines like GQ (Gentlemen’s Quarterly) and Cosmopolitan in 1995.

Some health associations were attributed to this diet – they supposedly gave it to overweight patients to help them lose a few pounds quickly before a heart surgery. This is why Cabbage Soup Diet is also referred to as Miami Heart Diet, Mayo Clinic Diet, American Heart Diet, Spokane Diet, and Sacred Heart Diet.

Precautions

Generally, cabbage soup is safe for adults who are in good health. However, if you have eating disorders, Type II diabetes, or other conditions, it would be best for you to consult a registered dietitian or doctor before you go through with it.

Also, due to the repetitive and restrictive nature of the diet, you cannot sustain it for a long period of time. This is why it has to be stopped on the 7th day.

Some side effects may appear such as light-headedness, dizziness, and flatulence (or intestinal gas). Since the common version of the cabbage soup recipe is usually high in salt, those dieters that are trying to restrict their intake of sodium should discuss a little flexibility with their physician.

Evaluations

Although there is no mainstream clinical trial of the soup, the cabbage itself was studied by food chemists and nutritionists for many years. In fact, it has been considered as good food to be included in any well-balanced and healthful diet.

After finishing the 7-day diet, Browne said that she learned quite a few things regarding her eating habits. Even though she may regard herself as a healthy eater, it has not occurred to her that she is not eating enough vegetables and fruits.

The diet helped her to be creative in putting together various combinations of healthy food cooked in different ways. She admitted that when you are stuck with eating veggies for several days, you could think of ways to enjoy it. It also made her conscious of drinking more water, which has not been part of her habit before this diet.

Heroes, the extremely popular sci-fi/drama TV series which was a total success during the first few seasons is now coming back on full strength in order to pick up where it left off. Due to the writer strike some months ago the production of this successful TV series came to a halt because simply put, there will be no hero story without creative writers.

Now that the scariest times are over (writer strikes) the first season of heroes is scheduled to air on September 22, 2008 in America and shortly after (if not immediately) in the UK to the BBC.

The following are some of the “previews” – so to speak – that you can expect to see during the much expected third season:

– Claire’s biological Pyro mom will come back for five entire episodes of the third season. Claire’s mom was completely absent during the second season and only appeared during the first season in order to provide some background or story which would justify the reason that Claire has special regenerative powers.

– A sexy villain is introduced as Hiro’s Joker, her name in the series is Daphne but her real name is Brea Grant, if you haven’t seen her pictures then Google it!, she’s a true beauty.

– Bruce Boxleitner, who is better known by his role in Babylon 5 will come to Heroes in order to play a role which was a modeled after the Republican and presidential candidate “John McCain”

– A new sexy villain? will be just as to the third season of Heroes, her name in the series will be Joy, she will be better known for getting into trouble just as quick as she got in the first place.

New turn of events and several twists are expected from the introduction of these characters who will add that much value to an already successful sci-fi yet realistic TV series.