Gassed up

Gas prices are spiking again ...

Great.

Today we watched them rise 15 cents in just a few hours ...

Suddenly, this image from a post I wrote last year has become planted in my head ...

Idol chatter

Thoughts on tonight's American Idol ...

Phil rocked “Blaze of Glory.” Bon Jovi told the Idols to own the songs, and he did it. Boy did he ever. And I’ll echo Randy and Paula: It was Phil’s best performance and the best opener of the season.

Jordin sang “Livin’ on a Prayer.” I’m thinkin’ she’s gonna need a few prayers to survive this week. It was too bland … But God bless her for being so candid and honest with herself.

But even as Jordin toughed it out, Kates and I remarked that the soul girls, Melinda and Lakisha, might have a tougher time. Kates even said, “Yeah, I’m a little scared to hear Lakisha.” After all, she’s been on the verge of getting knocked out the last couple weeks too …

Then Lakisha pulls out “This Ain’t A Love Song.” … And she’s back! … And that kiss with Simon!?! That was priceless.

Blake took the risk by changing up “You Give Love A Bad Name.” But he didn’t butcher the song, either. In fact, he played it perfectly. He stayed with the signature melody, and chipped in his own beat box twist, which he hadn‘t done in a few weeks. Smart kid ... True, half the audience probably loved it, and the other half hated it. Count me among the ones who enjoyed it.
Chris. “Dead or Alive.” I’ve never really liked the song. Never really liked Chris.

Melinda. “Have A Nice Day.” Totally Tina Turner.

...I'd be surprised if Chris doesn't get voted off tomorrow night. Lucky for Jordin, she's put together a strong enough run the last few weeks that her fan base is growing. Unfortunately, I think Lakisha's fan base is fading ...

The Best Damn album

… I got my hands on Avril Lavigne’s “Best Damn Thing” yesterday. I love it.

… By now, I’ve listened to the disc a half dozen times. And I’ve played “Girlfriend” about twice as much …

… I'd rather not make music comparisons, but for me there's no easier way to give people an idea of what the music sounds like. The first descriptions that came to mind listening to this one? It's like Fergie joined the Go-Gos ...

Let’s face it, Avril doesn’t have the polished chops of a Celine Dion, but her spunk and explosive energy makes the music oh so fun to listen to …

“Girlfriend” is clearly the hit on the album, perfect and just in time for the summer.

... “I Can Do Better” is classic power punk. “Runaway” is perfect for getting in the car and driving to some far off escape. “The Best Damn Thing” is damn-catchy.

The album falters a little in the middle, however. “When You’re Gone” is like an attempt at a sweet ballad in the same vein of Avril’s “I’m With You,” but it’s more likely to end up as a track I’ll routinely skip over …

... Some cool melodies make “Hot” and “Contagious” stand out during the latter half of the album before “Keep Holding On,” a song that's been sorely overplayed on radio, closes out the disc ...

No, the lyrics aren't as mature from an Avril who's now married, growing up and touting her third album (most of the stuff on here sounds like the words of a bratty schoolgirl, or songs that didn't make the "Mean Girls" soundtrack" ...

But the songs are catchy as anything she's done. And here's hoping she brings her stuff to Summerfest ...

(People are still talking about her SNL performance, the show came up every time I mentioned my listening to the new album)

Corporate cup

... So my company is competing in the annual Corporate Cup Challenge again this year.

I'll explain.

The Challenge is a 6-week fitness competition between various companies in the city, and participants earn points every day for exercising and eating healthy foods. We can earn up to six fitness points per day (one point for every 15 minutes or activity, or one point for every 2,000 steps walked) by doing anything from biking to weight lifting to walking to playing basketball. And if you cross-train, i.e. participate in more than one fitness activity, you can notch an additional point daily. Additional daily points come from eating at least six servings of fruits and vegetables a day, drinking six glasses of water and not smoking ...

And that's still not all. Individuals can rack up 10 points for participating in various community events -- the MS walk, Race for the Cure, Crop Walk, etc., in addition to points for checking your cholesterol, body fat and blood pressure checked ...

Once again, to encourage some friendly competition, our company allowed us to break into smaller teams of four. I teamed up again this year with my friends Brian and Liz, and we added our office fitness guru, Gary. We call ourselves The Fitastic Four ...

Funny though, Gary doesn't seem to be taking this whole challenge thing as seriously as the rest of us. (Liz, Brian and I are ultra-competitive...)

Last year, we annihilated the other teams in our company. And we're out to do it again this year. Maximum points is our daily mantra ...

We have to turn in our point totals every Monday and we submitted 373 this morning for Week No. 1. That's actually 15 points lower than we posted during Week No. 1 last year. But we still managed to top the second-place team by several dozen points ...

Oh, and new this year, we can earn one point for every week we avoid a pre-determined habit or behavior ...

What a stupid overachiever I am. I chose to avoid two habits: fast-food and caffeine ... and I'm feeling it.