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The interwebs are rife with rumor that the mysterious General Motors technology partner is none other than Google itself. Motor Trend is reporting that GM is currently courting the search guru in order to use the Big G's Android operating system in its vehicles. If successful, the company should have a telematics system that's more than capable of taking it to Sync – the excellent Ford/Microsoft mashup currently available in most Blue Oval products.

While MT claims that GM wants to out and out buy Android, we doubt that's the case. Google hasn't exactly made a habit of selling anything it produces – opting instead for an advertising-based revenue stream. What's more, Google is making major inroads into the consumer electronics marketplace with Android. Still, that doesn't mean the open-source Android couldn't find its way into the next generation of smart-phone capable vehicles from Detroit.

If the rumors prove true, we should first expect to see some iteration of the system on the upcoming Chevrolet Volt. GM has already said that owners will be able to monitor things like battery life and charging from their smart phones. They'll also be able to start and unlock the vehicle via a Volt app. Similar usability will likely trickle down into the rest of the GM ranks.

What would technology do best for learning?

An evolving set of best practices would help educational technology projects

by Dale Dougherty | @dalepd
| comments: 1

Given the opportunity to use technology to improve learning in a school or in the community, what would you do? What technology would you use? What would you develop? Whom would you serve? There are all kinds of answers.

Recently, as part of a team judging submissions that proposed new ways of using technology in education, I had a good chance to see a variety of proposals from many different teams, providing a variety of answers to those questions. However, I also found myself thinking how many of the proposed projects could be better. I wished the teams themselves were a better judge of their own proposals, and that they understood how their project advanced appropriate uses of technology in education.

I wished that each of the applicants had been able to consult an evolving set of best practices for developing educational technology projects. Such guidelines might help educational developers understand and share learning about technology stacks and encourage development based on open standards. They might even define standards of quality and methods of interaction and engagement. They might help others avoid pitfalls and learn from failures.

The question is not what technology would do for learning. Instead, the question we should be asking is how could more of us collaborate to develop projects that demonstrate innovative uses of technology in education? If we are going to see real benefits from applying technology in education, we need education to become an open platform for innovation that leverages the work of many people working independently.

Based on my experience as a judge, and a limited experience at that, I'd like to share some thoughts on creating projects and improving project proposals, which might lead toward developing a set of best practices for open educational technology projects.

I don't mean to suggest that I've understood or captured best practices here, but you have to start somewhere. I invite others to revise or extend this draft.

Here's a list of observations about project proposals, as seen from the eyes of a judge in a competition. The ability to create a good proposal should relate to the ability to build and manage a project, just as angel investors make decisions about which startups to fund based on pitches and presentations.

1. Don't do what others are already doing.

I suspected that many proposals were repeating something that had already been done, sometimes with little variation. Worse, they didn't realize that it had been done before. Or they simply believed that it was worth having them do what others were doing.

• Do something new and explain what's really new about it.
• Proposals should supply a set of references to related work that's already been done. Knowing that related work exists is a selling point; ignoring it is not.
• Explain how you've found a new opportunity that others have not identified.
2. Know why it matters.

The biggest question anyone should ask about any proposal is why does it matter? The answer should be the mission that brings together the team and informs all the decisions. Moreover, in a project proposal, the answer should be really obvious. It starts with the basic description of what the project is.

• You should be able to describe your project in terms of the practical benefit it will deliver.
• Who benefits from the project?
• How do they benefit?
• Is the benefit lasting and will it extend beyond the period of funding?
• Set expectations clearly and don't over-promise.
3. Make technology choices that are realistic and well-informed.

With some projects, I could not tell why certain technologies were chosen. I wondered if developers had previous experience using the technology. Did they have realistic expectations for what a technology could do? I also wondered how thoroughly the team explored other options. In other words, most proposals lacked a good rationale for selecting the technology involved in the project.

• Describe the team's previous experience with technology and whether you are familiar with its strengths and weaknesses.
• Following “technology trends” seldom makes a proposal worthwhile.
4. Limit the scope of new development.

Some proposals were technology “kitchen sinks.” The team was promising to do everything because they don't know how much work is involved in doing it. For example, a project proposal mentioned creating a social network to support their application. Will they use an existing social network like Facebook or will they create their own private social network?

• Create a clear but constrained definition of the project
• Build on an existing platform to limit the risk of taking on too much.
• Integrate with technology that exists instead of building your own.
• Focus on defining the core technology that must be built.
5. Develop the team doing the work.

Judges in a competition don't get to interview the team face-to-face. We end up having to trust reputation often in terms of traditional credentials or affiliation. Or we use Google to find out more about the team and its members. Mostly, we have to make guesses about the experience and expertise of the team. If one viewed the project strictly as a business investment, we'd want to know as much about the team as we could because the team matters so much to the success of the project. The idea or vision of a project usually takes a backseat to the people driving the project. We'd want to know that the team had a shared vision, specific responsibilities and that we could trust them to deliver.

• Who is the leader?
• Who does most of the work?
• Who makes sure the work gets done?
• Does the project really matter to them?

For a business proposal, one might assume that the desire to get funding will be met with an equal desire to make money for investors. In funding a non-profit project, one would like to know that the same desire leads them to deliver tangible benefits to the people they serve. In the end, we want to know that a team is committed to the project and can be depended upon to deliver.

6. Collaboration is a requirement.

Collaboration is what technology enables. Some projects seemed to consider collaboration as an afterthought, and not incorporated into the development process. Collaboration is what drives the open source model.

Collaboration is often made necessary by constraints. (“I can't afford to develop my own solution, so let me see if someone else has done so.”) Figure out early on what you can't do yourselves and what you don't know. Admit the limitations you're working under but use them for effect. In a sense, this is why crowdsourcing can be valuable. When you can't afford to buy the expertise you need, you try to find a way to leverage the community to provide it for you.

It's also good to reference a community of practitioners who may be doing similar things. You should explain how your work will inform that community and extend what's been done already.

• Find out how you can tap into existing communities to provide additional resources or expertise.
• Prepare to explain how you can broadly share what you're doing and what you're learning.
7. Leverage existing hardware/software and support free and open alternatives.

Projects that require funds to buy hardware — from laptops or netbooks to Android phones or GPS devices — are carrying an unneeded burden. Judges should question a budget that contains expensive licenses for commercial software for 20+ kids when open source programs exist that provide the same functionality. The costs for giving limited funds to hardware and specialized software can be hard to justify.

Ideally, a funder or some other source could organize a list of hardware available at steep educational discounts or even donations from a list of participating vendors. There's really no one doing that kind of coordination. Instead, the budget says 30 kids need 30 laptops, which the kids do need to participate in the project because laptops are not already available in the schools. This might be reasonable in many cases, but then you have requests for 30 cellphones, etc.

There are ancillary issues, such as the support and maintenance of hardware, as well. It's also not clear what happens to the equipment after the period of funding.

Avoid choosing cutting-edge technology that schools do not have. An iPhone/iPad or a gaming environment that requires more powerful PCs are examples of burdensome technology requirements that can hinder a proposal, no matter how exciting the technology opportunity. It's difficult to fund a project that requires specialized hardware that is beyond the reach of school budgets.

• Could the hardware/software be donated to your group, once you got the project funded?
• Find out if other sources of funding are available to pay for hardware that can be used across multiple projects.
8. Produce specific results and share them.

A project should be expected to produce value that survives the end of the project. Be really specific about what you'll produce and in what form you'll share it. Please share openly what did not work so others don't repeat the same failure.

You might simply write a report that details what was learned — a report not just for the funder, but for the community to learn from. You should provide data, not just a narrative.

Each project could also build or produce code that could be reused by others. If you design for reuse, others can benefit, which might include your next project. It may be only a small part of a project, but writing a module that continues to serve others in the community is a good thing.

This also applies to curriculum. Some proposals said they'd produce new curriculum but it wasn't clear what form the curriculum would take. Is it on paper? It is online? Is it in a wiki? Is it a PDF? We should expect that new curriculum can be used by others and that can it be easily modified for new uses.

9. A good match for public good.

Technology is seldom the main reason that a proposal is accepted, and that is perhaps is as it should be. There's some idea of “good match” that carries the day. That is, the proposals that win are believable in that the people or institution making the proposal can deliver and serve the selected audience, which is worth serving in terms of creating a public good.

All of this can be quite vague and rather frustrating to pin down. But it's a form of match-making. If one looks at the team and the characteristics and needs of the people who are the beneficiaries of the proposal, and there's a good match, then one can believe in the promised benefits. The technology — or the method of delivering the benefit — is significant, but it depends on having a good connection between the team and the people the team serves. This is another way of saying that the customer matters most.

The technology might even be peripheral to the proposal, like Hitchcock's notion of a MacGuffin. (He defined a “MacGuffin” as an object that built the drama and moved the plot forward but was on its own insignificant.) Technology can be a catalyst for changing processes and introducing new ways of thinking, and that may be its real value.

10. Understand what drives usage and engagement.

Just because you build something doesn't mean you know how to get others to use it.
This is hard, especially for education. A project that promises wide usage in theory can fail in practice if the project cannot easily recruit users.

11. Learn from good working examples.

Build with reference to good design practice. If you were building a website, you'd consult examples of good web design. If you build an ecommerce site, you have to be able to talk about Amazon and eBay. How do they work, what do they do, whom do they serve and how well do they accomplish what they promise to deliver?

Can we identify a group of “keystone” projects that use technology in education effectively and that can be referenced as a set of best practices?

12. Solicit real feedback. Repeatedly.

Getting good feedback early on is important. I'm not talking about evaluating whether the project will get funded. I wondered if the project proposals had been through rounds of review that questioned assumptions and looked into the implementation plan in detail.

(This competition had an open public review process, which consisted of the applicant's friends and colleagues writing: “Wow. What a fantastic learning application.” This is not useful feedback.)

I wondered what might change if the judging process was done in the open. Would it have been beneficial for the teams to hear the criticism directly? I suspect that little feedback gets back to the applicant — they are simply not chosen. In a public forum, a number of comments would not be expressed by judges (such as “X university never does this thing well”) but it would be advantageous if there was more public feedback, which might raise the stakes for the competition. More teams could learn about why their proposal was not selected, and use that feedback to improve in the future.

13. Have a real point of view.

Some project proposals seemed plain vanilla, lacking a point of view. In other words, the project proposal described what they'd do without covering why they want to do it. I liked when a member of the team was a strong advocate for the work they were doing. Often one's point of view relates to a much broader context for understanding the project.

As a judge, I discovered my own point of view and I looked for projects that shared this point of view. I discovered that the projects I liked had a few things in common. I preferred projects that offered a direct engagement with individual kids and that involved them in producing something of value based on their own interests. I like to see kids engaged in doing something real, not simulated. (Other judges have different views, and we each favored certain attributes, but I was happy to learn that I had begun to develop my own criteria, partially based on my experience of seeing students as makers.)

For instance, I liked a program working with 30 kids in an inner city to develop Android applications. There was a video of a teacher who was very excited about the opportunity to engage kids in how they would like to use mobile phones and what applications they'd like to see. She said in no uncertain terms that the idea of creating applications for a cellphone would allow her to reach kids who would otherwise not be interested in programming. I don't know if they will succeed in developing useful applications, but it was more interesting to me that they try.

Knowing your own point of view will help you understand the value that you're trying to create and connect to others who can support your work because they share similar views.

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Actually, “Jim”, yorkies bite all the time. That they can't do as much damage is fortunate for them, but it doesn't change the fact that they can bite. All dogs can bite. The “pit bulls” you and others want killed are mostly mutts, anyway, so all of this “bred to kill” nonsense is just getting old and paranoid.

The fact is that you will never be able to make a convincing argument for this breed's inherent “nature”, good or bad, because there are several additional factors to consider–most notably the percentage of stray dogs in NYC who are pits and the prevalence of abuse they suffer at the hands of criminals–that make all sweeping generalizations completely void. This is something a child can understand.

Secondly, everyone is missing the point here.
Whether “Snoop” should have been executed or not, he has spent nearly 5 months in a cell with no interaction from the outside world, and he is suffering greatly. These lawyers don't even think of the humane choice–they'll keep it going for as long as they can, while Snoop slowly goes insane in his own feces. Nice.

My little Pomeranian, Mercutio, is my baby. Seriously, it's an unhealthy attachment. I just want to take him everywhere. Some places kick me out on the spot even if he's in a bag and other places like Fishs Eddy insist twice that I put Mercutio down so he could run around. Hmmm, run around in a dishware shop with stacks of breakables on the floor, thanks anyway.

Anyway, I think this attachment started with the first dog my boyfriend and I adopted, Bisou. We decided that we wanted an older dog since everyone adopts puppies — not to mention the senior citizen would be chill and already trained (score!). We were in love with a polite 10-year-old, five pound Pomeranian; unfortunately she had seizures and arthritis.

Instantly, I became a hovering mother. I read every book on pooch seizures and was determined to make her better. Her time with us was full and rich with happiness but a few months after adopting her, she passed away from an infected uterus, something that could have been prevented if she was spayed earlier on in life. But there is a happy ending, I promise.

During her time with us, Bisou and I (yes, together) researched all about how food affects dogs' health and what exactly is in dog food. Um, it's gross, like, really gross. Without her illnesses, I might not have thought twice about giving her low-grade commercial dog food. She made me a better mutter (mother+mutt=mutter).

So what's in it you ask? Let me start off by saying there are some good premium organic dog foods out there, just remember to check the labels. The good stuff like chicken, beef, and lamb, should all be the first ingredient and never followed by the word “by-product.” By-products are basically everything not fit for human consumption like organs, bones, eyes, brains, hoofs, etc.

Now, you may not think that's so bad — dogs are animals, and after all, eat organs. But what also goes into those by-products are the 4Ds, dead, dying, diseased, and disabled animals, as well as road kill, zoo animals, and, legally, euthanized cats and dogs. Your pooch could potentially be eating an animal part that has cancer, other diseases, or remnants of euthanasia chemicals that could be fatal long term. Would you eat that? I didn't think so. I won't even get started on preservatives and artificial colors and flavors.

With all the scary stuff in dog food, I started making my own organic food for Bisou and now for Mercutio. I want Mercutio to live a long, healthy life, sans cancerous meat and other spooky bits. It's easy once you get the hang of it but you have to research dog diets to make sure your pooch is getting all the nutrients he or she needs and consult with your vet.

In addition to dog food, I also bake my own dog treats using organic, human-grade ingredients like organic brown rice flour and wholesome organic fruits and veggies. Humans can actually eat them but it won't taste good to you since there isn't any add sugar or salt. All treats are wheat-free and sans preservatives and artificial colors and flavors. Plus, they come in super cute recycled paper coffee bags.

And since I probably scared you all, I'm offering 15 percent off Variety Packs this week. Your pup will get to try a nutritious treat in four fab flavors: peanut butter carob, sweet potato oatmeal, banana carob chip, and apple cinnamon oatmeal.

Visit Get Lick'd to get your 15% discount!

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Jordan Byassee

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One of my favorite things about Philadelphia, aside from the acclaimed restaurants and traditional favorites, are all of the neighborhoods overflowing with undiscovered food gems. Far-off corners of the city with things like the “Pizzazz,” a pizza with American cheese and yellow peppers unknown to most people outside of the area.

So, flipping through the phone book, I was excited to find a listing for “Nicky And Pete's Famous Hot Dogs” on 64th Street, in a tiny, dwindling Italian neighborhood consisting of about four blocks in the middle of West Philadelphia, an area more known for Caribbean and soul food. How famous could it be? Was it even still there?

The other day I ventured up there, expecting a 75-year old lunch counter with a few old timers drinking 50-cent coffee and talking about plumbing, eating sad burgers and cheap hot dogs with greasy chili. But what I found was a brand-spanking-new hot dog stand, doing more than 13 different hot dog styles.

Nicky & Pete's is down the street from an Italian social club and next-door to an old-school cafe, complete with guys out front smoking cigars, drinking espresso and speaking in a Sicilian dialect, who seem to make up a good part of Nicky & Pete's business. They do the whole nine yards as far as Philly sandwiches go—hoagies, cheesesteaks, breaded chicken cutlet with longhots and sharp provolone, homemade meatballs. Sides of pepper shooters (cherry peppers stuffed with prosciutto-wrapped sharp provolone), crab fries, and wings.

But what really knocked me out is the serious hot dog menu. They're cooking them up Philly-style with Dietz & Watson dogs split and grilled, served on club rolls (the short, double-wide size is perfect for a split hot dog).

Nicky and Pete's Special: Cheez Whiz, onions, and special sauce.

They have the classic Philly pepper hash and even the famous “Philly surf and turf” fish cake and hot dog combo. Then there's the signature Nicky & Pete special with Cheez Whiz, onions, and “special sauce” that tasted like a cross between red onion sauce and mild chili (they also have a thicker standard “chili”).

They also have a Chicago Dog, Baltimore Dog with slaw and bacon, and even a Jersey Dog with peppers, onions, and potatoes. Not deep-fried, or on pizza bread—heresy to the North Jersey Italian hot dog purists, I'm sure—but it was damn good, and pretty rare on Philadelphia hot dog menus.

Also on the menu is a New York Dog with kraut and mustard, South Beach with American cheese and tomatoes (the Pizzazz Dog?), Pete's Dog with pickles, and The Godfather, piled with pretty much every topping in the house. I'm sure if you requested, they could even whip you up a “South Philly Dog” (they have all the ingredients) but Nicky & Pete's dogs beat anything coming from Citizens Bank Park by leaps and bounds.

Jersey Dog: peppers, onions and potato.

Nicky & Pete's is pretty much a take-out only joint, although there is a steak shop-style stainless steel ledge with a few stools if you want to eat in. Everything is cooked to order with some serious care, and I'm betting the steaks and homemade meatball sandwiches are worth making another trip for. The prices are ridiculously low—the dogs are all $2.10, except for the Godfather ($2.70) and the combo ($3). The rest of the sandwiches all hover around $5, and a cheesesteak is only $3.75.

There's some other good stuff in the neighborhood (known as Overbrook) including the original location of Jim's Steaks and a pizza place that might be worth checking out, but I don't think I'll be able to go all the way up there without grabbing a few hot dogs to-go.

They've been in business for only eight months. The only downside? That it isn't closer to Center City. I'm not going to say it's officially my new favorite place in Philly, but the next time someone asks me where to go for hot dogs here, I'm sending them on a trip to 64th street.

Nicky & Pete's Famous Hot Dogs

349 N. 64th Street, Philadelphia PA 19139 (map)

Hawk Krall is a Philadelphia-based illustrator who has a serious thing for hot dogs. Dig his dog drawings? Many of the illustrations he has created for Hot Dog of the Week are available for sale: hawkkrall.net/prints/.

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Actually, “Jim”, yorkies bite all the time. That they can't do as much damage is fortunate for them, but it doesn't change the fact that they can bite. All dogs can bite. The “pit bulls” you and others want killed are mostly mutts, anyway, so all of this “bred to kill” nonsense is just getting old and paranoid.

The fact is that you will never be able to make a convincing argument for this breed's inherent “nature”, good or bad, because there are several additional factors to consider–most notably the percentage of stray dogs in NYC who are pits and the prevalence of abuse they suffer at the hands of criminals–that make all sweeping generalizations completely void. This is something a child can understand.

Secondly, everyone is missing the point here.
Whether “Snoop” should have been executed or not, he has spent nearly 5 months in a cell with no interaction from the outside world, and he is suffering greatly. These lawyers don't even think of the humane choice–they'll keep it going for as long as they can, while Snoop slowly goes insane in his own feces. Nice.

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Ramon Colaluca

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Illinois's 5th Congressional District has a history of colorful representatives. In recent years it has elected famous firebrand Rahm Emanuel and the one-man circus that is Rod Blagojevich.

The man currently representing the 5th, Mike Quigley, is determined to make a name for himself not through off-the-court antics, but by connecting to his constituents. And he's taken that to quite the extreme recently.

NBC Chicago reports that Quigley recently spent time working as a garbage man with Streets and Sanitation to get a sense of the demands of the job. He ate school lunch at a CPS elementary school cafeteria to see firsthand what the government was doing about childhood nutrition (the answer he found: not much). He hunted for Asian carp with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to help get a handle on that impending crisis.

Plus he served up hot dogs at Super Dawg's and made drinks at Connie's Pizza in Elmwood Park.

In other words, the congressman's been busy in his home district. And he's learned a lot.

From the NBC report:

“I learned that Chicago lunches are terrible,” he said. “If I was a Chicago student I would ask my mom to pack a lunch. Then the next day – this is the unique quality of this job – I got to talk to the USDA Chief and say look, our school lunches are really bad. What are we going to do about it?”

Dog Fancy magazine and DogChannel.com are offering dog owners a chance to earn a free online degree by enrolling in Dog College.

The program sponsored by Iams Healthy Naturals runs from April 15-July 15. The three-month program consists of nine courses that give pet owners better insights into caring for their dogs.

The Dog College curriculum includes courses on physiology, natural nutrition, communication, genetics, environmental science and art history.

"Whether you are just thinking about getting a dog, or already have a puppy, older dog, purebred or rescue, you can learn more about dogs, and how to make the relationship with your pet stronger, by taking these classes,'' said Ernie Slone, editor of Dog Fancy and DogChannel.

Each course includes advice and information from dog experts, along with reading material, video and slide shows. To graduate, students must complete all of the quizzes with a passing score of 60 percent or higher.

A valedictorian, chosen from those who score 100 percent on all quizzes, will win a year's worth of Iams Healthy Naturals dog food provided by PETCO.
 

 

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According to folklore and Woody Woodpecker, St. Bernards once carried barrels of brandy around their necks to revive stranded mountaineers. Now such barrels can go around your dog's neck to revive you for $50. [Kegworks via TheGreenHead via OhGizmo!]

Send an email to Mark Wilson, the author of this post, at mark@gizmodo.com.

Last summer we told you about Penelope Princess of Pets — a web-series created by and starring Flight of the Conchords' Kristen Schaal, playing a girl who can talk to animals — getting picked up by England’s Channel 4. We had totally forgotten about it until just now, when the show’s trailer, fulfilling its inherent life-purpose, reminded us. Turns out Channel 4 actually paid for a production cycle and isn’t just airing the original shorts, although all oddball aesthetics and general lo-fi-ness appear to have been maintained. The only significant addition is an awesome one: The Mighty Boosh’s Julian Barratt is playing a member of Parliament that the animals are telling Penelope to kill. Ok, here’s the question, then — can we infer from Penelope getting a full-on series order that England’s current television-production community is really weird? Or, considering that they have to import quirky alt-comedy, are they, perhaps, not weird enough?

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Last night the remaining nine contestants on American Idol stumbled through the catalogue of Elvis Presley, failing for the most part to make any of the King’s tunes their own. Season-eight runner-up Adam Lambert blessedly livened things up as a guest mentor, and he was actually a great tie-in to the week's theme since Elvis also wore mascara offstage and the networks won’t show Lambert doing certain things below the hips. Glambert kept the episode afloat by actually giving some honest feedback, saying this season has great singers but a lot of them need to “wake up … let’s put on a show.” (And after weeks of the judges wondering what the problem is with Andrew, it was a relief to have someone flat out tell him his singing was boring.)

The mentoring segments were filmed in Las Vegas, which added absolutely nothing to the episode but did allow Ryan to utter questionable lines like, “Let’s see what happened to Katie in Sin City … ” And to make up for all the gay jokes in his wheelhouse that he would have liked to have been making last season (there was mid-season speculation, but Lambert didn’t publicly come out until after the season wrapped), Ryan made sure to tell Adam, “My tongue is not nearly as talented as yours … you know what I mean, with singing! With singing!” Adam gracefully responded with one of those “please shut up” smiles you make when your mom tells your significant other about your potty-training travails.

The performances:

Crystal Bowersox continues to impress and show growth. For the first time this season, she actually made a left-field song choice, singing an obscure (in Elvis terms) gospel-blues tune called “Saved.” Naturally, she nailed the vocals and arrangement, and her stage persona was more energetic, sassy, and comfortable than ever before. She’s one of the few contestants this season truly using the show as training for a real career later on. Simon said good things about her, but it was incredibly distracting watching Glee’s Jane Lynch in the background and wondering what she would say if she were at the judges’ table.

Andrew Garcia’s lounge-lizard re-conception of “Hound Dog” was the kind of thing that should have fallen into the “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” category. Even more miserable than his languid singing was his lifeless performance, where he doddered around stage like an old man and dragged the mic with him like it was his IV stand. With two people going home tonight, it’s really time to bid him adieu. Ellen was the only judge who liked it, and explained to Ryan that she liked it because she liked it.

After weeks of excruciating Sanjaya-esque performances, Tim Urban surprisingly delivered one of the night’s most satisfying songs. Instead of sullying “Can’t Help Falling In Love” with his usual goofy bombast, he gently picked at his acoustic guitar and offered a restrained, understated take on the oft-covered tune that was actually a bit beautiful. Ellen likened him to tequila (because she regrets him the next morning?) but seemed to mean it as a compliment, and Simon indulged in an unforgivable cliché by saying Tim “went from zero to hero in two weeks.” Is Simon now writing eighties movie trailers on the side?

Lee DeWyze continued his bid to be named Bowersox's runner-up with a bluesy, growling version of “A Little Less Conversation.” He’s finally loosened up onstage to the point where he successfully inhabits each song. Kara still wanted him to smile more and hop around the stage on a pogo stick, but Simon reminded her that “it’s about nailing the song and that was on the money.” Watch it below.

Decked out in his Back to the Future Part II-version-of-the-future finest, Aaron Kelly took on “Blue Suede Shoes.” Lambert advised the 17-year-old to put some aggression into his performance, but Aaron just looked scared and hid under a nearby couch. His performance was solid but not memorable — the main problem was the hopelessly outdated backing blues music. Kara applauded him for moving out of his comfort zone, but Simon felt it was too old-fashioned. Jane Lynch sagely nodded along in the background.

Siobhan Magnus gave us the soft and screechy sides of her musical persona this week, and the resulting version of “Suspicious Minds” was enjoyable though not exactly relevant, much like her Billy Idol meets Bride of Frankenstein hairstyle. Lambert looked like he loved her performance more than the others, which makes sense: Her voice is lovely, powerful, and idiosyncratic in a way not unlike his own. Randy confusingly likened it to the Supremes, while Kara couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that Siobhan is one girl with two different singing styles. Simon told her she’s lost sight of who she is, but Siobhan wasted no time putting them back in their places. “Even I can’t pinpoint who or what I am, but I’ve always taken pride in that … I don’t think it’s necessary to be labeled.” Shine on, you crazy diamond.

After his near-elimination last week, Michael Lynche sang “In the Ghetto” on Siobhan’s advice. Even though the arrangement was slow and bare-bones, it still came across as cheesy and a bit lame. Mike definitely should have taken Adam’s advice to ignore the judges and embrace his theatrical side — at least then he’d be entertaining instead of forgettable. The judges all give him terse praise, probably because they’re not quite ready to admit he may not have been worth the save.

Katie Stevens made an interesting song choice with “Baby What Do You Want Me to Do,” but she came nowhere near pouring her frustration with the judges into her singing, which was her stated aim. Adam correctly said “she needs to sell it more,” but all the non-Simon judges liked her grrr-face façade of anger. Simon told her it was boring and she shouted back at him, “What do you want me to do?” Get voted off the show soon, Katie. Is that so much to ask?

Casey James closed the night with an acceptably old-school blues take on “Lawdy Miss Clawdy.” It was good MOR white blues, but that’s kind of like saying The Biggest Loser is good for immediately forgettable melodrama. Still, his vocals were fine and, as Ellen pointed out, he did look “comfortable surrounded by a sea of women.” But perhaps she just said that because she likes to watch the muscles in Kara's neck tense up.

Odds and sods moments:

Siobhan opined that Elvis is so compelling to her because he came from practically nothing and became one of the most successful performers ever. Never one to pass up an opportunity to make things trite, Ryan declared, “Yep, rags to riches.”

Katie Stevens explained anger to us: “It’s like UGH! Not aaahhhh.”

In the long-running Fox tradition of attempting to sabotage people by implying they’re terrorists, Seacrest introduced Tim Urban as “Turban.”

Seacrest joked that Brian Dunkleman would return next week for Idol Gives Back. No one in the audience seemed to recall who that was, which means his joke failed, but Seacrest still wins, since his former Idol co-host isn’t remembered well enough to function as a punchline.

Reminding us of the importance of voting, Ryan shouted, “You don’t want to lose your favorite, because that would suck!” at a frail old lady.

Tonight Adam Lambert returns to perform, and perhaps we will finally be rid of the oppressive mediocrity that is Andrew Garcia’s singing. And with the save gone, hopefully Siobhan or Casey won’t fall into the bottom two and be forced to shuffle off their Idol coil.

Last night the remaining nine contestants on American Idol stumbled through the catalogue of Elvis Presley, failing for the most part to make any of the King’s tunes their own. Season-eight runner-up Adam Lambert blessedly livened things up as a guest mentor, and he was actually a great tie-in to the week's theme since Elvis also wore mascara offstage and the networks won’t show Lambert doing certain things below the hips. Glambert kept the episode afloat by actually giving some honest feedback, saying this season has great singers but a lot of them need to “wake up … let’s put on a show.” (And after weeks of the judges wondering what the problem is with Andrew, it was a relief to have someone flat out tell him his singing was boring.)

The mentoring segments were filmed in Las Vegas, which added absolutely nothing to the episode but did allow Ryan to utter questionable lines like, “Let’s see what happened to Katie in Sin City … ” And to make up for all the gay jokes in his wheelhouse that he would have liked to have been making last season (there was mid-season speculation, but Lambert didn’t publicly come out until after the season wrapped), Ryan made sure to tell Adam, “My tongue is not nearly as talented as yours … you know what I mean, with singing! With singing!” Adam gracefully responded with one of those “please shut up” smiles you make when your mom tells your significant other about your potty-training travails.

The performances:

Crystal Bowersox continues to impress and show growth. For the first time this season, she actually made a left-field song choice, singing an obscure (in Elvis terms) gospel-blues tune called “Saved.” Naturally, she nailed the vocals and arrangement, and her stage persona was more energetic, sassy, and comfortable than ever before. She’s one of the few contestants this season truly using the show as training for a real career later on. Simon said good things about her, but it was incredibly distracting watching Glee’s Jane Lynch in the background and wondering what she would say if she were at the judges’ table.

Andrew Garcia’s lounge-lizard re-conception of “Hound Dog” was the kind of thing that should have fallen into the “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” category. Even more miserable than his languid singing was his lifeless performance, where he doddered around stage like an old man and dragged the mic with him like it was his IV stand. With two people going home tonight, it’s really time to bid him adieu. Ellen was the only judge who liked it, and explained to Ryan that she liked it because she liked it.

After weeks of excruciating Sanjaya-esque performances, Tim Urban surprisingly delivered one of the night’s most satisfying songs. Instead of sullying “Can’t Help Falling In Love” with his usual goofy bombast, he gently picked at his acoustic guitar and offered a restrained, understated take on the oft-covered tune that was actually a bit beautiful. Ellen likened him to tequila (because she regrets him the next morning?) but seemed to mean it as a compliment, and Simon indulged in an unforgivable cliché by saying Tim “went from zero to hero in two weeks.” Is Simon now writing eighties movie trailers on the side?

Lee DeWyze continued his bid to be named Bowersox's runner-up with a bluesy, growling version of “A Little Less Conversation.” He’s finally loosened up onstage to the point where he successfully inhabits each song. Kara still wanted him to smile more and hop around the stage on a pogo stick, but Simon reminded her that “it’s about nailing the song and that was on the money.” Watch it below.

Decked out in his Back to the Future Part II-version-of-the-future finest, Aaron Kelly took on “Blue Suede Shoes.” Lambert advised the 17-year-old to put some aggression into his performance, but Aaron just looked scared and hid under a nearby couch. His performance was solid but not memorable — the main problem was the hopelessly outdated backing blues music. Kara applauded him for moving out of his comfort zone, but Simon felt it was too old-fashioned. Jane Lynch sagely nodded along in the background.

Siobhan Magnus gave us the soft and screechy sides of her musical persona this week, and the resulting version of “Suspicious Minds” was enjoyable though not exactly relevant, much like her Billy Idol meets Bride of Frankenstein hairstyle. Lambert looked like he loved her performance more than the others, which makes sense: Her voice is lovely, powerful, and idiosyncratic in a way not unlike his own. Randy confusingly likened it to the Supremes, while Kara couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that Siobhan is one girl with two different singing styles. Simon told her she’s lost sight of who she is, but Siobhan wasted no time putting them back in their places. “Even I can’t pinpoint who or what I am, but I’ve always taken pride in that … I don’t think it’s necessary to be labeled.” Shine on, you crazy diamond.

After his near-elimination last week, Michael Lynche sang “In the Ghetto” on Siobhan’s advice. Even though the arrangement was slow and bare-bones, it still came across as cheesy and a bit lame. Mike definitely should have taken Adam’s advice to ignore the judges and embrace his theatrical side — at least then he’d be entertaining instead of forgettable. The judges all give him terse praise, probably because they’re not quite ready to admit he may not have been worth the save.

Katie Stevens made an interesting song choice with “Baby What Do You Want Me to Do,” but she came nowhere near pouring her frustration with the judges into her singing, which was her stated aim. Adam correctly said “she needs to sell it more,” but all the non-Simon judges liked her grrr-face façade of anger. Simon told her it was boring and she shouted back at him, “What do you want me to do?” Get voted off the show soon, Katie. Is that so much to ask?

Casey James closed the night with an acceptably old-school blues take on “Lawdy Miss Clawdy.” It was good MOR white blues, but that’s kind of like saying The Biggest Loser is good for immediately forgettable melodrama. Still, his vocals were fine and, as Ellen pointed out, he did look “comfortable surrounded by a sea of women.” But perhaps she just said that because she likes to watch the muscles in Kara's neck tense up.

Odds and sods moments:

Siobhan opined that Elvis is so compelling to her because he came from practically nothing and became one of the most successful performers ever. Never one to pass up an opportunity to make things trite, Ryan declared, “Yep, rags to riches.”

Katie Stevens explained anger to us: “It’s like UGH! Not aaahhhh.”

In the long-running Fox tradition of attempting to sabotage people by implying they’re terrorists, Seacrest introduced Tim Urban as “Turban.”

Seacrest joked that Brian Dunkleman would return next week for Idol Gives Back. No one in the audience seemed to recall who that was, which means his joke failed, but Seacrest still wins, since his former Idol co-host isn’t remembered well enough to function as a punchline.

Reminding us of the importance of voting, Ryan shouted, “You don’t want to lose your favorite, because that would suck!” at a frail old lady.

Tonight Adam Lambert returns to perform, and perhaps we will finally be rid of the oppressive mediocrity that is Andrew Garcia’s singing. And with the save gone, hopefully Siobhan or Casey won’t fall into the bottom two and be forced to shuffle off their Idol coil.

petsafe spray bark control

Eryn Rowson

Dog Meets International Foto up of the general Week: Filling in the Gap

BARK ARK   A woman carries a dog to her house in a flooded yard in the town of Stolbtsy, Belarus, on March 26.  (Photo: Sergey Grits / AP via the Christian Science Monitor)

Amid all the well-deserved celebrations and self-congratulations on the passage of the health insurance reform bill, I thought I heard a dog bark. I was wrong. From the very beginnings of the late great debate, this dog didn't bark.

I speak of the one most popular alternative to provide guaranteed comprehensive and universal health care coverage-not just private insurance — for all of us-Medicare for All– was not even considered. As a state legislator, senator and candidate that was Barack Obama's choice. But despite what he now says, he does not tell the truth when he says every idea was truly considered. In fact, he refused to allow others in his administration to consider any proposal for single-payer health coverage.

As a result, Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and most health research groups, and the main stream press boycotted and wouldn't permit discussions of the simplest, most straight forward possibility for health care reform, Medicare for All. It was shut out of White House meetings. Not even Kaiser, or the Commonwealth Fund or AARP responded to my repeated appeals to at least give an airing to the single-payer alternative. The reason: it wasn't going to pass, so why bother? Eventually, the process passed it by.

So it was ironic that John Dingell, a Michigan Democrat and the longest serving member of the House was given the honor of calling for the decisive vote on the reform bill. But the universal health care legislation he and his late New Dealer father championed for years was ignored. Nevertheless, Dingell gallantly praised the passage of the Obama bill and was at the signing.

But the second longest serving member of Congress, John Conyers, Jr, also from Michigan, was nowhere to be seen in the celebrations. His bill, HR 676, the U.S. National Health Care Act, Expanded and Improved Medicare for All, just 30 pages long, had nearly 100 congressional sponsors, including several blue-dog Democrats who voted against the Obama bill, plus more unions, doctors, nurses, advocacy groups and consumers than the White House was able to enlist for its proposal.

But Conyers was gracious, praising passage of “the first comprehensive set of reforms to our ailing health care system.” He noted that he “would have preferred a different approach,” but he didn't repeat an earlier observation, that after a year of debate and compromises and deals with insurance companies and drug makers, the Obama bill passed the House by only three votes. Conyers reiterated his support for a public health option, which Obama gave away, “because I fundamentally believe in the value of public health insurance and remain an ardent supporter of universal single-payer health care,” like Medicare. And he called for a new campaign to achieve it. Now that the Health Care Activists have been awakened, they won't easily leave the scene-especially if Americans get impatient with the slow pace of change built in to the health insurance reforms.

Obama has said he would have favored Medicare For All “if we were starting from scratch.” So let's review what might have been and may yet be. The Conyers legislation would have established a “publicly financed, privately delivered health care system that uses the already existing Medicare program…”

It would cover, at no charge, all medically necessary services, dentistry, long term care, with patients having the right to choose their providers. And because the free care would be paid for by taxes and premiums, private health insurers would be unnecessary and would be prohibited from selling coverage that duplicates the benefits. And unlike the plan that has passed, HR 676 would eliminate the need for dozens of fragmented, wasteful programs by including the Children's Health Insurance Program, Medicaid, and other government funded programs with the exception of the VA health program, which may eventually become part of the system. And it sets a goal of converting to a non-profit system in 15 years. Read for yourself here.

One problem with the bill that has passed, it leaves in place all the federal, state and private insurance bureaucracies for the dozens of competing and duplicative agencies, with their complex rules that differ from state to state. Premiums for Medicare Advantage and the Part D drug benefit, for example, may differ from one county to another. While subsidies for Medicare Advantage insurers are to be eliminated over time, the current system is to remain in place, although these plans will be required to spend at least 85 percent of their revenues on the care of patients.

Indeed, to give the Obama bill its due, while it is not a health care plan it is a health insurance reform, which can be strong measure to regulate and restrict the behavior of health insurance providers. Insurance companies will be barred from dropping people from coverage when they get sick. They will be barred from excluding children for pre-existing conditions; later that will apply to adults as well. They must provide immediate access to insurance for Americans who are uninsured because of a pre-existing condition. Children will be able to remain on their parents' health plan until age 26.

In addition, insurers cannot impose lifetime or yearly caps on benefits, and new plans are required to cover preventive services, such as mammograms, colonoscopies and immunizations without cost-sharing. That's to become a standard Medicare benefit for all beneficiaries, who have been required to pay for co-insurance.

As expected the 40,000-member Physicians for a National Health Program, which supports HR 676, worried that the bill that has passed will take too long to implement, that it will further enrich the for-profit insurance industry by $447 billion, that costs will go higher and that the new regulations are riddled with loopholes.

All we can do is see how it works. If things don't really change for the better and Democrats remain in the majority in Congress maybe we can come closer to the Conyers bill, and hear the sleeping dog bark.

Friedman also writes for www.timegoesby.net. He can be contacted at saulfriedman@comcast.net.

sport dog bark collar

Nikki Abbington

Unleashed: Out in the week the overall city w/ the general dog? Where??

Last night the remaining nine contestants on American Idol stumbled through the catalogue of Elvis Presley, failing for the most part to make any of the King’s tunes their own. Season-eight runner-up Adam Lambert blessedly livened things up as a guest mentor, and he was actually a great tie-in to the week's theme since Elvis also wore mascara offstage and the networks won’t show Lambert doing certain things below the hips. Glambert kept the episode afloat by actually giving some honest feedback, saying this season has great singers but a lot of them need to “wake up … let’s put on a show.” (And after weeks of the judges wondering what the problem is with Andrew, it was a relief to have someone flat out tell him his singing was boring.)

The mentoring segments were filmed in Las Vegas, which added absolutely nothing to the episode but did allow Ryan to utter questionable lines like, “Let’s see what happened to Katie in Sin City … ” And to make up for all the gay jokes in his wheelhouse that he would have liked to have been making last season (there was mid-season speculation, but Lambert didn’t publicly come out until after the season wrapped), Ryan made sure to tell Adam, “My tongue is not nearly as talented as yours … you know what I mean, with singing! With singing!” Adam gracefully responded with one of those “please shut up” smiles you make when your mom tells your significant other about your potty-training travails.

The performances:

Crystal Bowersox continues to impress and show growth. For the first time this season, she actually made a left-field song choice, singing an obscure (in Elvis terms) gospel-blues tune called “Saved.” Naturally, she nailed the vocals and arrangement, and her stage persona was more energetic, sassy, and comfortable than ever before. She’s one of the few contestants this season truly using the show as training for a real career later on. Simon said good things about her, but it was incredibly distracting watching Glee’s Jane Lynch in the background and wondering what she would say if she were at the judges’ table.

Andrew Garcia’s lounge-lizard re-conception of “Hound Dog” was the kind of thing that should have fallen into the “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” category. Even more miserable than his languid singing was his lifeless performance, where he doddered around stage like an old man and dragged the mic with him like it was his IV stand. With two people going home tonight, it’s really time to bid him adieu. Ellen was the only judge who liked it, and explained to Ryan that she liked it because she liked it.

After weeks of excruciating Sanjaya-esque performances, Tim Urban surprisingly delivered one of the night’s most satisfying songs. Instead of sullying “Can’t Help Falling In Love” with his usual goofy bombast, he gently picked at his acoustic guitar and offered a restrained, understated take on the oft-covered tune that was actually a bit beautiful. Ellen likened him to tequila (because she regrets him the next morning?) but seemed to mean it as a compliment, and Simon indulged in an unforgivable cliché by saying Tim “went from zero to hero in two weeks.” Is Simon now writing eighties movie trailers on the side?

Lee DeWyze continued his bid to be named Bowersox's runner-up with a bluesy, growling version of “A Little Less Conversation.” He’s finally loosened up onstage to the point where he successfully inhabits each song. Kara still wanted him to smile more and hop around the stage on a pogo stick, but Simon reminded her that “it’s about nailing the song and that was on the money.” Watch it below.

Decked out in his Back to the Future Part II-version-of-the-future finest, Aaron Kelly took on “Blue Suede Shoes.” Lambert advised the 17-year-old to put some aggression into his performance, but Aaron just looked scared and hid under a nearby couch. His performance was solid but not memorable — the main problem was the hopelessly outdated backing blues music. Kara applauded him for moving out of his comfort zone, but Simon felt it was too old-fashioned. Jane Lynch sagely nodded along in the background.

Siobhan Magnus gave us the soft and screechy sides of her musical persona this week, and the resulting version of “Suspicious Minds” was enjoyable though not exactly relevant, much like her Billy Idol meets Bride of Frankenstein hairstyle. Lambert looked like he loved her performance more than the others, which makes sense: Her voice is lovely, powerful, and idiosyncratic in a way not unlike his own. Randy confusingly likened it to the Supremes, while Kara couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that Siobhan is one girl with two different singing styles. Simon told her she’s lost sight of who she is, but Siobhan wasted no time putting them back in their places. “Even I can’t pinpoint who or what I am, but I’ve always taken pride in that … I don’t think it’s necessary to be labeled.” Shine on, you crazy diamond.

After his near-elimination last week, Michael Lynche sang “In the Ghetto” on Siobhan’s advice. Even though the arrangement was slow and bare-bones, it still came across as cheesy and a bit lame. Mike definitely should have taken Adam’s advice to ignore the judges and embrace his theatrical side — at least then he’d be entertaining instead of forgettable. The judges all give him terse praise, probably because they’re not quite ready to admit he may not have been worth the save.

Katie Stevens made an interesting song choice with “Baby What Do You Want Me to Do,” but she came nowhere near pouring her frustration with the judges into her singing, which was her stated aim. Adam correctly said “she needs to sell it more,” but all the non-Simon judges liked her grrr-face façade of anger. Simon told her it was boring and she shouted back at him, “What do you want me to do?” Get voted off the show soon, Katie. Is that so much to ask?

Casey James closed the night with an acceptably old-school blues take on “Lawdy Miss Clawdy.” It was good MOR white blues, but that’s kind of like saying The Biggest Loser is good for immediately forgettable melodrama. Still, his vocals were fine and, as Ellen pointed out, he did look “comfortable surrounded by a sea of women.” But perhaps she just said that because she likes to watch the muscles in Kara's neck tense up.

Odds and sods moments:

Siobhan opined that Elvis is so compelling to her because he came from practically nothing and became one of the most successful performers ever. Never one to pass up an opportunity to make things trite, Ryan declared, “Yep, rags to riches.”

Katie Stevens explained anger to us: “It’s like UGH! Not aaahhhh.”

In the long-running Fox tradition of attempting to sabotage people by implying they’re terrorists, Seacrest introduced Tim Urban as “Turban.”

Seacrest joked that Brian Dunkleman would return next week for Idol Gives Back. No one in the audience seemed to recall who that was, which means his joke failed, but Seacrest still wins, since his former Idol co-host isn’t remembered well enough to function as a punchline.

Reminding us of the importance of voting, Ryan shouted, “You don’t want to lose your favorite, because that would suck!” at a frail old lady.

Tonight Adam Lambert returns to perform, and perhaps we will finally be rid of the oppressive mediocrity that is Andrew Garcia’s singing. And with the save gone, hopefully Siobhan or Casey won’t fall into the bottom two and be forced to shuffle off their Idol coil.

Last night the remaining nine contestants on American Idol stumbled through the catalogue of Elvis Presley, failing for the most part to make any of the King’s tunes their own. Season-eight runner-up Adam Lambert blessedly livened things up as a guest mentor, and he was actually a great tie-in to the week's theme since Elvis also wore mascara offstage and the networks won’t show Lambert doing certain things below the hips. Glambert kept the episode afloat by actually giving some honest feedback, saying this season has great singers but a lot of them need to “wake up … let’s put on a show.” (And after weeks of the judges wondering what the problem is with Andrew, it was a relief to have someone flat out tell him his singing was boring.)

The mentoring segments were filmed in Las Vegas, which added absolutely nothing to the episode but did allow Ryan to utter questionable lines like, “Let’s see what happened to Katie in Sin City … ” And to make up for all the gay jokes in his wheelhouse that he would have liked to have been making last season (there was mid-season speculation, but Lambert didn’t publicly come out until after the season wrapped), Ryan made sure to tell Adam, “My tongue is not nearly as talented as yours … you know what I mean, with singing! With singing!” Adam gracefully responded with one of those “please shut up” smiles you make when your mom tells your significant other about your potty-training travails.

The performances:

Crystal Bowersox continues to impress and show growth. For the first time this season, she actually made a left-field song choice, singing an obscure (in Elvis terms) gospel-blues tune called “Saved.” Naturally, she nailed the vocals and arrangement, and her stage persona was more energetic, sassy, and comfortable than ever before. She’s one of the few contestants this season truly using the show as training for a real career later on. Simon said good things about her, but it was incredibly distracting watching Glee’s Jane Lynch in the background and wondering what she would say if she were at the judges’ table.

Andrew Garcia’s lounge-lizard re-conception of “Hound Dog” was the kind of thing that should have fallen into the “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” category. Even more miserable than his languid singing was his lifeless performance, where he doddered around stage like an old man and dragged the mic with him like it was his IV stand. With two people going home tonight, it’s really time to bid him adieu. Ellen was the only judge who liked it, and explained to Ryan that she liked it because she liked it.

After weeks of excruciating Sanjaya-esque performances, Tim Urban surprisingly delivered one of the night’s most satisfying songs. Instead of sullying “Can’t Help Falling In Love” with his usual goofy bombast, he gently picked at his acoustic guitar and offered a restrained, understated take on the oft-covered tune that was actually a bit beautiful. Ellen likened him to tequila (because she regrets him the next morning?) but seemed to mean it as a compliment, and Simon indulged in an unforgivable cliché by saying Tim “went from zero to hero in two weeks.” Is Simon now writing eighties movie trailers on the side?

Lee DeWyze continued his bid to be named Bowersox's runner-up with a bluesy, growling version of “A Little Less Conversation.” He’s finally loosened up onstage to the point where he successfully inhabits each song. Kara still wanted him to smile more and hop around the stage on a pogo stick, but Simon reminded her that “it’s about nailing the song and that was on the money.” Watch it below.

Decked out in his Back to the Future Part II-version-of-the-future finest, Aaron Kelly took on “Blue Suede Shoes.” Lambert advised the 17-year-old to put some aggression into his performance, but Aaron just looked scared and hid under a nearby couch. His performance was solid but not memorable — the main problem was the hopelessly outdated backing blues music. Kara applauded him for moving out of his comfort zone, but Simon felt it was too old-fashioned. Jane Lynch sagely nodded along in the background.

Siobhan Magnus gave us the soft and screechy sides of her musical persona this week, and the resulting version of “Suspicious Minds” was enjoyable though not exactly relevant, much like her Billy Idol meets Bride of Frankenstein hairstyle. Lambert looked like he loved her performance more than the others, which makes sense: Her voice is lovely, powerful, and idiosyncratic in a way not unlike his own. Randy confusingly likened it to the Supremes, while Kara couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that Siobhan is one girl with two different singing styles. Simon told her she’s lost sight of who she is, but Siobhan wasted no time putting them back in their places. “Even I can’t pinpoint who or what I am, but I’ve always taken pride in that … I don’t think it’s necessary to be labeled.” Shine on, you crazy diamond.

After his near-elimination last week, Michael Lynche sang “In the Ghetto” on Siobhan’s advice. Even though the arrangement was slow and bare-bones, it still came across as cheesy and a bit lame. Mike definitely should have taken Adam’s advice to ignore the judges and embrace his theatrical side — at least then he’d be entertaining instead of forgettable. The judges all give him terse praise, probably because they’re not quite ready to admit he may not have been worth the save.

Katie Stevens made an interesting song choice with “Baby What Do You Want Me to Do,” but she came nowhere near pouring her frustration with the judges into her singing, which was her stated aim. Adam correctly said “she needs to sell it more,” but all the non-Simon judges liked her grrr-face façade of anger. Simon told her it was boring and she shouted back at him, “What do you want me to do?” Get voted off the show soon, Katie. Is that so much to ask?

Casey James closed the night with an acceptably old-school blues take on “Lawdy Miss Clawdy.” It was good MOR white blues, but that’s kind of like saying The Biggest Loser is good for immediately forgettable melodrama. Still, his vocals were fine and, as Ellen pointed out, he did look “comfortable surrounded by a sea of women.” But perhaps she just said that because she likes to watch the muscles in Kara's neck tense up.

Odds and sods moments:

Siobhan opined that Elvis is so compelling to her because he came from practically nothing and became one of the most successful performers ever. Never one to pass up an opportunity to make things trite, Ryan declared, “Yep, rags to riches.”

Katie Stevens explained anger to us: “It’s like UGH! Not aaahhhh.”

In the long-running Fox tradition of attempting to sabotage people by implying they’re terrorists, Seacrest introduced Tim Urban as “Turban.”

Seacrest joked that Brian Dunkleman would return next week for Idol Gives Back. No one in the audience seemed to recall who that was, which means his joke failed, but Seacrest still wins, since his former Idol co-host isn’t remembered well enough to function as a punchline.

Reminding us of the importance of voting, Ryan shouted, “You don’t want to lose your favorite, because that would suck!” at a frail old lady.

Tonight Adam Lambert returns to perform, and perhaps we will finally be rid of the oppressive mediocrity that is Andrew Garcia’s singing. And with the save gone, hopefully Siobhan or Casey won’t fall into the bottom two and be forced to shuffle off their Idol coil.

remote electric dog collar

Toney Niedzwiedzki

profile

Nothing To Do With Arbroath: Ex-'Batman' star creates line up of dog food

Last night the remaining nine contestants on American Idol stumbled through the catalogue of Elvis Presley, failing for the most part to make any of the King’s tunes their own. Season-eight runner-up Adam Lambert blessedly livened things up as a guest mentor, and he was actually a great tie-in to the week's theme since Elvis also wore mascara offstage and the networks won’t show Lambert doing certain things below the hips. Glambert kept the episode afloat by actually giving some honest feedback, saying this season has great singers but a lot of them need to “wake up … let’s put on a show.” (And after weeks of the judges wondering what the problem is with Andrew, it was a relief to have someone flat out tell him his singing was boring.)

The mentoring segments were filmed in Las Vegas, which added absolutely nothing to the episode but did allow Ryan to utter questionable lines like, “Let’s see what happened to Katie in Sin City … ” And to make up for all the gay jokes in his wheelhouse that he would have liked to have been making last season (there was mid-season speculation, but Lambert didn’t publicly come out until after the season wrapped), Ryan made sure to tell Adam, “My tongue is not nearly as talented as yours … you know what I mean, with singing! With singing!” Adam gracefully responded with one of those “please shut up” smiles you make when your mom tells your significant other about your potty-training travails.

The performances:

Crystal Bowersox continues to impress and show growth. For the first time this season, she actually made a left-field song choice, singing an obscure (in Elvis terms) gospel-blues tune called “Saved.” Naturally, she nailed the vocals and arrangement, and her stage persona was more energetic, sassy, and comfortable than ever before. She’s one of the few contestants this season truly using the show as training for a real career later on. Simon said good things about her, but it was incredibly distracting watching Glee’s Jane Lynch in the background and wondering what she would say if she were at the judges’ table.

Andrew Garcia’s lounge-lizard re-conception of “Hound Dog” was the kind of thing that should have fallen into the “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” category. Even more miserable than his languid singing was his lifeless performance, where he doddered around stage like an old man and dragged the mic with him like it was his IV stand. With two people going home tonight, it’s really time to bid him adieu. Ellen was the only judge who liked it, and explained to Ryan that she liked it because she liked it.

After weeks of excruciating Sanjaya-esque performances, Tim Urban surprisingly delivered one of the night’s most satisfying songs. Instead of sullying “Can’t Help Falling In Love” with his usual goofy bombast, he gently picked at his acoustic guitar and offered a restrained, understated take on the oft-covered tune that was actually a bit beautiful. Ellen likened him to tequila (because she regrets him the next morning?) but seemed to mean it as a compliment, and Simon indulged in an unforgivable cliché by saying Tim “went from zero to hero in two weeks.” Is Simon now writing eighties movie trailers on the side?

Lee DeWyze continued his bid to be named Bowersox's runner-up with a bluesy, growling version of “A Little Less Conversation.” He’s finally loosened up onstage to the point where he successfully inhabits each song. Kara still wanted him to smile more and hop around the stage on a pogo stick, but Simon reminded her that “it’s about nailing the song and that was on the money.” Watch it below.

Decked out in his Back to the Future Part II-version-of-the-future finest, Aaron Kelly took on “Blue Suede Shoes.” Lambert advised the 17-year-old to put some aggression into his performance, but Aaron just looked scared and hid under a nearby couch. His performance was solid but not memorable — the main problem was the hopelessly outdated backing blues music. Kara applauded him for moving out of his comfort zone, but Simon felt it was too old-fashioned. Jane Lynch sagely nodded along in the background.

Siobhan Magnus gave us the soft and screechy sides of her musical persona this week, and the resulting version of “Suspicious Minds” was enjoyable though not exactly relevant, much like her Billy Idol meets Bride of Frankenstein hairstyle. Lambert looked like he loved her performance more than the others, which makes sense: Her voice is lovely, powerful, and idiosyncratic in a way not unlike his own. Randy confusingly likened it to the Supremes, while Kara couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that Siobhan is one girl with two different singing styles. Simon told her she’s lost sight of who she is, but Siobhan wasted no time putting them back in their places. “Even I can’t pinpoint who or what I am, but I’ve always taken pride in that … I don’t think it’s necessary to be labeled.” Shine on, you crazy diamond.

After his near-elimination last week, Michael Lynche sang “In the Ghetto” on Siobhan’s advice. Even though the arrangement was slow and bare-bones, it still came across as cheesy and a bit lame. Mike definitely should have taken Adam’s advice to ignore the judges and embrace his theatrical side — at least then he’d be entertaining instead of forgettable. The judges all give him terse praise, probably because they’re not quite ready to admit he may not have been worth the save.

Katie Stevens made an interesting song choice with “Baby What Do You Want Me to Do,” but she came nowhere near pouring her frustration with the judges into her singing, which was her stated aim. Adam correctly said “she needs to sell it more,” but all the non-Simon judges liked her grrr-face façade of anger. Simon told her it was boring and she shouted back at him, “What do you want me to do?” Get voted off the show soon, Katie. Is that so much to ask?

Casey James closed the night with an acceptably old-school blues take on “Lawdy Miss Clawdy.” It was good MOR white blues, but that’s kind of like saying The Biggest Loser is good for immediately forgettable melodrama. Still, his vocals were fine and, as Ellen pointed out, he did look “comfortable surrounded by a sea of women.” But perhaps she just said that because she likes to watch the muscles in Kara's neck tense up.

Odds and sods moments:

Siobhan opined that Elvis is so compelling to her because he came from practically nothing and became one of the most successful performers ever. Never one to pass up an opportunity to make things trite, Ryan declared, “Yep, rags to riches.”

Katie Stevens explained anger to us: “It’s like UGH! Not aaahhhh.”

In the long-running Fox tradition of attempting to sabotage people by implying they’re terrorists, Seacrest introduced Tim Urban as “Turban.”

Seacrest joked that Brian Dunkleman would return next week for Idol Gives Back. No one in the audience seemed to recall who that was, which means his joke failed, but Seacrest still wins, since his former Idol co-host isn’t remembered well enough to function as a punchline.

Reminding us of the importance of voting, Ryan shouted, “You don’t want to lose your favorite, because that would suck!” at a frail old lady.

Tonight Adam Lambert returns to perform, and perhaps we will finally be rid of the oppressive mediocrity that is Andrew Garcia’s singing. And with the save gone, hopefully Siobhan or Casey won’t fall into the bottom two and be forced to shuffle off their Idol coil.

Are you trying to find a landlord who will not only welcome Fido with open paws, but understand the pooch's need to use the backyard as a potty? Are you someone whose home-buying priority isn't good schools but rather proximity to a dog park or 24-hour vet clinic? If you had your druthers, would you forgo a home with built-in bookshelves in favor of one with a built-in cat platform-climbing tree?

Moving, whether it be down the street or from coast-to-coast, is stressful. So call it a clever marketing tool or the answer to a pet-owner's prayers, but the Pet Realty Network is here to help. The brainchild of British-born Rhona Sutter, the Pet Realty Network charges real estate agents $30 a year to showcase an unlimited number of pet-friendly properties. They can also upload their bios and photos. The fee for developers is $50 a year. The site, free to visitors, provides a wealth of pet moving tips. Sutter is also a Realtor.

Karen Numme, an agent with Keller-Williams in the trendy Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, joined the network earlier this year. Numme is a doggie stage mom whose five-pound Yorkshire Terrier named Shumi just completed a national campaign for Target. Numme, who shares space on her business card with Shumi, says the Pet Realty Network has been a tremendous resource for her thus far.

“I'm a pet person and know quite a bit, but they have information on the site that has helped me to help my clients. It's great!,” she said. There are links to local pet sitters, pet boarding facilities, dog walkers, and other pet-friendly businesses.

Sutter, who started the site almost three years ago, said it has more than 200 members now. Based in Naples, Florida, she said she plans on launching a sister site in the next few weeks that focuses exclusively on pet-friendly rental units. She also runs pethealthalert.com, created after a series of hurricanes underscored the need for emergency pet information.

The Pet Realty Network also runs an online store with pet gifts suitable as closing presents from agents to home buyers — things like a “this belongs to me” blanket personalized with a pet's name, that sells for about $30 or a Mutt Pack Traveler, a see-through traveling case that retails for about $40. Other items include leash holders and T-shirts with horse, dog and cat themes.

So, clever marketing or a real service? Probably a little of both, but I'd give the lady high marks for an easy-to-use and cleverly written web site, dedicated to Kash, the Golden Retriever who is listed as the former Director of Barketing.

Estimates are that more than 10 million families moved with pets last year, Sutter said, and focusing on buyers with pets just helps agents distinguish themselves from the rest of the pack, so to speak. I'll raise a paw to that one.

biodegradable dog waste bag

Tameka Mofford

Kennel Fair Dog Pageant: More Rejection Letters

Music fans of tomorrow are kids of today, and the way they pay for digital content is through virtual worlds like Farmville and Penguin Town, which turn the acquisition of virtual goods — and digital music is nothing if not a virtual good — into a game.

Conduit Labs’ Music Pets app for Facebook may look cute, but it could have tangible ramifications for how music is discovered and sold in the future.

The goal of Music Pets is to entertain a virtual pet by training it to like the music you like, then using points to send the pet out to find more music to add to your collection. It sounds silly, but this cartoon-ish virtual world includes every element of the real-world music experience: getting recommendations, deciding whether you like songs, collecting music, and going over to your friends’ “houses” to play songs from your collection, which, as with just about everything else, requires that you expend points.

As with similar games, you can get everything you want for your pet and your music collection for free, so long as you have the time to add them to your pet’s training regimen by engaging in repetitive, somewhat amusing activities, including a Plinko-style game that has you trying to bounce balls onto all of the letters in a band’s name. Powering up for more points without spending lots of time requires that you pay up in real money, which is something many people simply don’t do for digital music in other contexts.

Conduit Labs passes on a percentage of revenue to labels, which then pass some of that along to artists and publishers. Is it possible that little furry cartoon characters from Tamagotchi-land will succeed where industry heavyweights have failed: in convincing kids to pay for music?

So far, the Music Pet Facebook app has drawn over a million users since its launch about a month ago, and the company recently inked a deal with the biggest record label in the world, Universal Music Group, to complement its healthy selection of independent labels (Beggars Group, Domino, Downtown and Modular) in Music Pet as well as its other games, Loudcrowd, which launched at SXSW last year and Super Dance. Rather than selling music at a specific price, the company keeps price vague, because users earn music through a combination of effort and time.

“The public perception of the value of a song is very skewed and has little to do with its actual price,” Conduit Labs founder Nabeel Hyatt told Wired.com. “We believe offering fun, social, interactive experiences with music is the best way to monetize.”

If the idea of grown men and women discovering and collecting music using a cute little avatar sounds absurd, you probably haven’t watched Jesse Schell’s DICE talk. If you don’t have the 20 minutes it takes to watch the whole thing, it can pretty much be summed up in one sentence: In the future, he claims, everything will be a game. It’s either a horrifying Orwellian vision of what’s to come or an indication that we’ll all be more amused in the coming years, depending on how you look at it.

In the real world, people typically discover music through other people, give it a listen, decide whether to acquire it, and then take it out for a spin every once in a while and maybe play the song for friends.

Music Pets replicates all of that, except that it makes every stage into a game. If Schell is right, this is a template for how the kids of today will purchase music tomorrow.

Here’s how it works:

Depending on whether or not you're heading to movie theaters this weekend, you might learn a little something or two about “How To Train Your Dragon.” In all likelihood, you're not going to encounter too many fire-breathing winged beasts in your life — I would hope not, anyway — but in case you do, DreamWorks' latest 3-D animated feature should teach you a couple of tricks on how to tame such a mythical creature.

But if you have plans that prevent you from heading to the local cinema in the near future, never fear — there are plenty of other films that have already laid out a few lessons on how to train your pet dragon, or at least how to avoid getting killed by one!

After the jump, check out some of the lessons we've learned from other cinematic dragons.

Cover Up Your Underbelly: Although the vast majority of dragons are capable of massive amounts of destruction, that's not to say they're without their weaknesses. Take Smaug in the forthcoming “The Hobbit,” for example — powerful though he may be, the lack of gold plating on one portion of his belly proved to be his undoing. When training your dragon, it's important to identify any weakness that could be exploited by a potential opponent.

Don't Assume Too Much: It's easy to look at a dragon and find yourself terrified at the creature's ferocious appearance, but don't be so quick to judge a book by its cover — or, in this case, a dragon by its scales. Draco, the Sean Connery-voiced dragon at the center of “Dragonheart,” is certainly sarcastic and has a bit of a mean streak, but if treated with respect and appreciation, he can become an invaluable ally.

Don't Stare A Gift Dragon In The Mouth: As a trainer, it's important to know your limitations against a dragon — for instance, leaping at a dragon while clutching a battle axe in your hand is most likely going to lead to you being swallowed whole, like Matthew McConaughey's character in “Reign of Fire.” It's best to deal with these creatures diplomatically, since violence isn't going to get you anywhere aside from a dragon's digestive tract.

Establish A Friendship: Beyond diplomacy, appreciation and respect, there's a lot to be said for loving your dragon. In “Pete's Dragon,” Pete and Elliott the Dragon have an excellent relationship due to the young orphan's affinity for the cartoon creature. By solidifying a loving relationship between yourself and your dragon, you'll find yourself not only with a partner in crime, but with a true friend.

Get Lucky: In life, education and ability aren't always enough — often, you need some luck on your side in order to achieve your dreams. So if you're ever at a point where you can actually select your very own dragon, you would be wise to find a luckdragon like Falkor from “The Neverending Story.” While he's not as strong and menacing as some other fictional dragons, he's impossibly lucky, and that's an invaluable skill to have on your side.

What other lessons have you learned from movie dragons? Tell us in the comments on on Twitter!

small dog electric collar

Vanita Keets