Stealing plants and watching Idol

Perhaps thanks to the rain over the weekend, David's allergies were in check yesterday so we took a nice walk around the neighborhood, and ended up stopping for dinner at one of our favorite pubs, Mr. Henry's. After we finished eating, our waiter came over and said "So how are you hot dudes doing?". Shameless ploy perhaps, but he got his 20%.

We have these little pots in our kitchen window that we've never been exactly sure what to plant in them. Most plants would outgrow them too quickly. A few weeks ago David got a bunch of these little weeds and succulents from the horticulture teacher at his school and they've been thriving nicely. But now he has gotten obsessed, and when we walk around he scours the neighborhood for more that he can steal. Last night he found three new varieties. He just pulls off a tiny stalk and plants it when we get home. It cracks me up. But he stole one from a little park over by the Botanical Gardens and after a few days it even produced a delicate little yellow flower. There are worse obsessions, right?

So what is going on with Idol this season? Overall it is by far the best group of singers they've had since I started watching, but somehow it is all sort of...dull. The Andrew Lloyd Webber week was good, but I don't get how there wasn't a gay intern or someone who could go to Castro and say, dude, don't sing "Memory". Here, listen to Laurie Beechman and her guitar sing "Love Changes Everything", and do that instead. (Also, did Ryan say that Streisand made "Memory" famous? Wasn't that "Memories", which is a completely different song?) I did really like Archletta's "Think Of Me", because he took a girl song and changed the arrangement around and made it sound like a pop song written for him. Best yet though was Syesha, who took a song I didn't even know (give me a break, how many of you know anything from Starlight?) and was totally sexy and fun.

This week was even worse though. Neil Diamond, really? Castro and Brooke, both of whom showed such early promise, have gotten completely predictable and dull. Castro just seems bored. Brooke though, is having panic attacks on stage, which is just kind of sad and hard to watch. Her second song was way better than the first (which was a disaster), but she won't get back to great until she just relaxes. And stop talking back to the judges!!!! I hate that! The David's were both fine but boring. The only person who was any good at all was, shockingly, Syesha. She is like Neil and Sabra from SYTYCD, peaking late in the season. I don't know if it is, perhaps, too late to save her (since Simon clearly is done with her and wants her gone), but for the second week in a row she was the best thing about the show. With Carly gone (whom deserved better but asked for an early dismissal with her refusal to get a makeover) Syesha indisputably has the best vocals. I hope she edges out Castro or Brooke this week, but I'm not holding my breath. I still expect the final two to be the two David's.

Oh, and how awesome was Paula? After they sang their first song she starts giving feedback and is like "Your first song was just ok, but your second song didn't show your personality." Awkward pause. Er, his second song? Oh My God! Paula is a time-traveller! It totally explains everything, why she is always so weird, because she already knows what is going to happen but is always trying to remember what she can't say and the strain is just too much for her. lol (In fairness, I'm sure she saw them rehearse both songs, but still. And how lame to get negative feedback on a song you haven't even performed yet?)