I don't feel so bad now...

From the AP:

"Cougars 4 Cook."

There it was, on a poster in the "American Idol" audience last week, after David Cook belted Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" in the Key of Emo. And that slogan — not to mention the woman who hoisted it — speaks to the 25-year-old singer's popularity with, ahem, women of a certain age.

And #1 and #2 quotes of the week, both from Salon:

#1, about David Archuleta:

He has the most unforced vocal technique since -- excuse me while I dry-heave -- Josh Groban. He is sweet and milky and blackhead-free, and he is utterly inhuman, like something you'd encounter on Disney's "Small World" ride. (Paddle! Paddle!) "Archu-Dee-Two," one blogger has called him, and I would have to agree, except that I can't help envisioning a time when Archuleta breaks out of the workshop and goes on a rampage through the surrounding countryside, hot-wiring cars and breaking kneecaps, with Miley Cyrus in tow. To quote the title of his favorite song: "Imagine."

#2, about David Cook:

I realized that one of the things fueling my season-long vigil -- one of the reasons I still watch this show after so many years -- is the possibility that my generation might still have a say in our pop culture. David Cook is young enough to be my son, but he makes music for grown-ups, and we grown-ups need music even more than the wheatlike children who sway in front of every "American Idol" stage. At least for today, the U2 song no longer applies. We've found what we're looking for.

Okay, no more AI from me...for this season :)

Guilty Pleasure: AI

I recently read an article saying that American Idol viewership had decreased among younger viewers and increased among "older" viewers 35-49. Not sure how I feel about being an "older" viewer, but, I must admit, I'm still a sucker for AI.

And, if my husband can have pictures of Evangeline Lilly from "Lost" on his desktop, I can admit I have a little crush on David Cook. I'm almost old enough to be his mother (if I'd been a seriously unsupervised 14 year old), and I'm definitely old enough to have been bothered by his original hair-in-his-eyes style. (When you want to push hair out of someone's face, you know you've turned into your mother).

If anything shows the viewership age gap, it's the two finalists. You have the battle of the Davids: David Cook (favorite of us "older" folks) and David Archuleta, who doesn't look at day over 15 (he's 17) and was born when I was a senior in COLLEGE. When David C. sings, the crowd goes wild. When David A. sings, the girls scream in Beatle-esque unison. And, while David A. is technically proficient, he doesn't seem to have a real grasp on the meaning of the songs he sings. David C. makes you think he's lived every word.

I think that, in about 5 years and 2 ex-girlfriends, David A. will be able to back up his wonderful voice with some real emotion. David C. has that combination now, and I hope he wins the AI final on Wednesday. Either way, this "older" consumer will absolutely buy his album.

I (heart) my Lindstrom pliers

I took the plunge and bought my first pair of Lindstrom pliers. My Hobby Lobby cheapo roundnose pliers were getting a bit out of alignment, so it was the perfect opportunity to upgrade.

On the Etsy forums, someone recommended replacing pliers one at a time due to the cost. I did a little web-browsing and found that Urban Maille had the best prices. They shipped pretty quickly, too.



I unpacked them and immediately noticed how much shorter the tips were than my old pair. However, now that I've used them, I think that gives me more control without having to move my hand so much when I loop wire. Also, it took a few turns to figure out the best spot to loop the wire around.

The handles on these pliers are wonderful! They're much longer than the pliers I had before, and they're extremely comfortable. When I switched between them and my cheapo chainnose pliers, I could really tell the difference.



The tips are so tiny! You could make a tiny loop with these, and, although I haven't tried it, I bet it would make a much tighter start to a wire spiral.

Now that I have these, I can't wait to replace all my other pliers! Ooooh, and the flush cutters, too :)