If you haven't watched the show in your time zone..don't read anymore if you don't want to know the results...

OK, kind of doing a live blog as the singers get voted off. The first one is between Jason Yeager and Danny..I'd love to see Danny get booted out, but it's Jason. There goes the only contestant that I know for sure is a Christian..though there is still hope for a handful of others. This was a no brainer though, everyone had him going tonight.

Now it's the back row time for the girls..Kristy is safe..cool..time to choose between Amanda and Alexandrea. Wow..the first shocker of the year..Alexandrea goes home.  Amanda staying is only based on the fact that she is one of a kind. Alexandrea was I thought the best of the 3 young black girls, but sadly for her, the three probably split votes and she got axed. David Archuleta is really crying..and she comes over to give him a big hug..they must have gotten to be good friends. Maybe she can sing backup for him when he tours arena's next year!

I'm now worried for Alaina. She might have split votes with the other counrty girl Kristy. I bet it's her and Kady for bottom 2 in that row...and I'm right. I predicted Kady..but I like her, but still want to see Alaina stay..here comes the moment of truth...dog gone it it's Alaina. Kady is truly shocked..she looked resigned to the fact. All the girls are in tears...Kady, Ramiele, Danny (oops), Kristy. She doesn't want to sing out of embarrassment but pulls it together. As usual, the singer does a better job the second try. I'm really mad at this..she was a much better singer than Kellie Pickler and Bucky, and they are hitting it big on the Country charts. If some small label wanted to give her a chance and some great songs to sing, she will be a star. Sorry to see you go! OK, Kristy..you have the country fan base to yourself...start wowing us! She did sing great in that group song tonight. (Here is Alaina last night when she was a little happier.)

OK, pull yourself together Jimbo..it's time for the guys. What can possibly shock me more.. David Archuleta leaving?

First..big news! Beatles songs can finally be sung, starting with the top 12 show. Maybe Paul McCartney will be the tudor!

More big news..another Idol gives back night in April. Last years show was the show of the year. Melinda's "There Will Come A Day" was awesome. They are showing clips from last year..I got to see my new hero Ashley Clark of The Clark Brothers for a second, standing with Carrie Underwood during her "I'll Stand By You."

OK, now it's time for the guys..it's between Luke and Robbie..another shocker..Robbie goes home. Another one with potential if he would have just done pop instead of rock. No one seems really upset about him leaving. I ended up only getting Jason right for going home this week. I doubt anyone had 3 right in this group.

OK, as usual, I don't have as much time to talk about the girls. Thanks for the early comments on the girls placed in the Phil Stacey blog.

I'll rate them as how I enjoyed them:

1) Brooke...she was a natural with You're So Vein. The only thing is I think that's as good as she will ever be, where the other girls have a higher ceiling.

2) Alaina..I LOVE old fashioned..when Carrie did it I liked it, and I like when this girl does it. I thought it was great, and she reminds me of Carrie's little sister. Hoping America likes her..she's the one I voted for.

3) Carly..OK, maybe I'm starting to jump on her bandwagon..she had the pipes to do a Heart song, unlike Kady.

4) Kristy..big improvement over last week, but didn't blow me away.

5...Ramiele..did a solid job...see the next 3.

6, 7 and 8) Asiah, Alexandrea and Syesha. All 3 have such great potential, but played it too safe with dull songs for the last 2, and too big a challenge for Asai'h.

9)..Kady..I want to like her, but she doesn't have it performing Heart's Magic Man.

10) Amanda...All she did was tackle my favorite song of all time, Carry on Wayward Son, and just murdered it.

Overall, I actually thought the men were better this week. I'm gonna say Amanda and Kady go home, to join Jason Yeager and Luke.

Let me know what you think!.Jimbo

For those waiting for my thoughts on the top 10 girls, you'll have to wait until Thursday as usual as I have to wait to watch it since I'm in Church. The men's thoughts are in the blog below. Steve asked me who I thought were the 4 guys in the next two weeks to not make it in top 12..and I'll say Luke, Jason Yeager, Robbie and Danny, though the last 2 can save themselves next week with great performances.

To hold you over until my girls picks, here is the latest blog from Phil Stacey in the USA TODAY website. It has some very interesting takes on why it's so hard to sing on Idol.

_________________________________________

I've always been a big fan of American Idol, and watched and voted every year, and, after this first week of live performances, I'm hooked again for another season. I'll say that there were a few that I was really happy for and others that I felt for. It's funny that someone can give one non-perfect performance on American Idol and everyone starts talking about how non-talented they are. Come on, people, these are the folks who emerged as the best 24 contestants out of 100,000 auditions. Though I'm sure there were 99,976 people back home telling everyone in the room with them, "I could've done better", there are some inherent challenges that can make for a less-than-perfect performance.

First of all, you can't hear yourself. Unlike most artists you see in concert at arenas and stadiums, you aren't using in-ear monitors and you can't hear the tiny speakers sitting next to the judges at all. So basically you're singing by muscle memory.

Second, you have already watched as some of your friends who impressed you during rehearsals were criticized by Simon. That can be a little discouraging. Unless of course, you're first. Then, you have to deal with the first performance of the night curse (which many a mighty have fallen... in a blaze of glory!!!).

Third, right before you go on to sing you are reminded to be conscious of the 30 million viewers back home and to look into the camera ... So while a performer usually gets their energy from a crowd, we don't even get to see them. They're all sitting behind us, watching our backs as we sing into a big black abyss of a studio wall in front of us with a little red light from a camera - constantly reminding us ... people are watching.

Then you have to pick the right song. You're given a list of songs to select from and if you choose one that's already been chosen by someone else, you get to pick another which you may or may not know. And if you didn't get your first choice, you probably get to choose from the ones that none of the other 23 wanted, since they already picked the best ones. Should you choose a slow one to pull heartstrings, or should you choose a fast one that could easily be forgotten? All the great performances remembered from seasons past are typically ballads, but then you could end up like my dear friend Amy Krebs, who was voted off the first week for singing a ballad, and had to do a repeat on her performance of I Can't Make You Love Me to the very people that she couldn't make love her. Just a little awkward for her, I'm sure.

This doesn't even touch on the other things going on, like the 300 friends who have emerged out of nowhere since they saw your audition, now calling you with suggestions on what to sing, and when you tell them your song choice they say something along the lines of "really?" or "hmmm, you think that one, huh?" Then the stylists might be experimenting with a new look and end up putting you in a hat that looks like the one Hannibal Lecter wore on the end of Silence of the Lambs. Then, there's hair and make-up, and you saw what they did to Sanjaya last year ... Though I admit, I would've worked the pony-hawk too, but alas, God has chosen a different path for me ...

<In what follows, Phil tells us why he won't be criticizing any would-be Idols this season.>

I couldn't do a live blog because my kids were doing webkinz for the first 30 minutes of show! He is a quick take on the 10 performances.

Michael Johns. Not nearly as good as last week. I never liked Fleetwood Mac. He should have done "Hot Blooded instead of Robbie. Grade..B-

Jason Castro. Enjoyable but not a smooth as last week....B-

Luke..I thought he did a good job with his vocals of the queen song. He now reminds me of Greg Long of Avalon. Fantastic voice but stiff as a board....B

Robbie...just quite the rock thing and admit you have a pop voice. As someone who comes from Lou Gramm's hometown..you are no Lou Gramm....B-

Danny..I just want to slap the smirk off his face..sorry. He could be the worlds greatest singer and I couldn't watch him...D

David Hernandez..He has potential to be this year's Elliot. Didn't like that he thanked God then kind of retracked it...B+  (later comment..my friends Alison and Steve are right in the comments below..David actually IS thanking God..he just wanted to make sure people didn't think he was calling Simon God! Also noticed when I played it back he had a big cross on ther back of his hoodie. I'm starting to really like this guy!)

Jason Yeager..As much as I want to like him, he's just not that good....C

Chikezie...Much better this week. I always wondered why they do so many Donny Hathaway songs on idol..and now I know..his daughter is a backup singer!...He gets a B+

David Cook...My friend Mike had a funny point..if his middle initial was C he could be a Christian book publisher.=) I thought he did a solid job singing All Right Now..but again with the attitude towards Simon. Simon was right, he doesn't have great charisma. Daughtry had it, he doesn't. Half of these guys have serious ego's. You know he's gonna give it to you, take it like a man and move on. ..B+ goes down to a B.

David Archuleta...When I heard he was singing "Imagine" I cringed..but he skips the first line about imagine there's no heaven! Thanks David! When you take that line out, the song almost works for me. His voice was brilliant. I've already played it over 3 times. Glad to see they showed that youtube bit with Kelly Clarkson that I gave the link to a few blogs ago. He gets the big A.

So my top guys were David A., David H., and Chikezie. I think Jason Y and Luke will get voted off.

So who did you like and dislike this week? Will have more Idol stuff soon!..Jimbo

P.S. Just got the new CD's from Leeland and The Afters..2 of my faves from the past few years. At first listen they don't disappoint! More later on them.

Here's a picture of David from tonight.

No surprises on the results show. I had 3 of the 4 right. Glad Jason Yeager will be given another chance. Carly's hair looked terrific, made her look much softer.

Glad Chikezie made it through, barely. he has potential to be one of the top guys. Just don't give it back to Simon..it never works in your favor bro! Just ask Chris Sligh last year!

For a treat, here is Melinda Doolittle's My Funny Valentine. There is nobody with the wow factor this year like Melinda created last year. Maybe one will emerge. I think it's a deeper field, with lots of A- and B- performances, but no A+'s yet!

http://www.myspace.com/MELINDADOOLITTLE

Have a great weekend! I'm really busy with company tonight, tomorrow, and I'm going to try to see the U2 movie sometime too. So if I don't give personal reply's for a few days, forgive me!

God Bless..Jim

OK, see my last blog for why this isn't a live one!

Have a few minutes this morning on top 12, so it won't be too in depth.

My top girls were:

Alaina.  Even though the song didn't lend itself to country, she has vast potential to be the next Carrie.

Asia'h. Consistently good and upbeat.

Ramiele..Wasn't quite as big as the judges, but still very good.

Alexandrea.  Surprise of the night.

Kady. I love her voice. Don't mind her being serious!

Amanda. I prefer rocker guys to rocker chicks, but she's authentic.

Syesha. She is too loud at times, tone it down.

Carly. Just don't like her personality. She can sing no doubt.

Brooke. Voice is rather thin, nice personality. The anti-Carly.

Kristy. I know you were sick..but you are in danger girl!

Amy. Off-key throughout.

Joanna. Worst I heard all week. No Lakisha or Mandisa.

I agree with Craig, Simon is the only one with constructive advice, even if you don't always agree with him.

So tell me who you liked! I need some quality time with my wife, so I won't comment on who gets voted off until Friday. My picks are Amy, Joanna, Colton and sadly, Jason Yeager. Who are your picks to be voted off? This will be practice for the top 12 contest!

Have a great day and thanks for the time!..Jimbo

If you came here tonight looking for my takes on the women, you'll have to wait a day..sorry! I'll be at Church and will try to watch it before I go to bed, but won't have time for my blog until Thursday. Please leave your comments on the show below if you would like to before seeing what I have to say!

Thanks for all the feedback on the men. Someone told me some bad news, that Daid Archuleta is a Morman. Now I don't know if it's true, or if he's hearing that because he's from Utah. He's still my favorite either way, but from what I heard about him I was hoping he might be a Christian. Morman's are good people morally, they just need to put Jesus first and ignore the extra doctrines. 

Now I had to go back to watch it, but someone said that Robbie's headband said "Heal the Sick, Raise The Dead." It did say it, but there was no crosses or anthing else on it to indicate anything Christian..but who knows?

Some early surveys online are thinking Chikezie and Danny will be voted off, but I say no way. I'm thinking it will be from the group of Garrett, Luke, Colton and Jason Yeager. 

Well, come back Thursday, and enjoy the women!

OK, I'm stealing the idea of a live blog from Ken Barnes, who does it for USA Today. He wrote this following bit about what to expect tonight, and I agree:

So what can we expect? Based on past history,

> someone we haven't seen much of will prove to be really good

> someone we haven't seen much of will prove to be startlingly inferior

> someone we have seen a lot of will suddenly crater under the pressure

> some early favorites and front-runners will fade quickly in our estimation

> Simon will be wrong on some of his judgments, but generally incisive and insightful

> Randy and Paula will be bland and/or largely incomprehensible in their judgments

> The two-hour show will feature a certain amout of padding

Thanks Ken, you are right! Some early fave always flames, and one of the unknowns, which I'm hoping is Christian Jason Yeager, will shine.

What I'm going to do is about every 30 minutes I will post my thoughts on this blog. I won't be able to see any other online opinions, the views will be my first impressions as I see them. When the show is over I will do an overview. If you want to comment as the show goes on, please leave comments in the box!

In the past there wasn't any themes until it got down to top 12, so if a Chris Sligh wanted to do MuteMath or Nadia Turner an Ashley Cleveland song, they could do it. But the thing I heard is that they might be doing 60's music tonight. Theme's are fun, but sometimes not fair if it isn't your cup of tea. My family went to a 60's diner tonight by chance, so I'm stoked to hear more 60's music on the show.

OK, I'll be back around 8:30 with my first impressions!

____________________________________________

David Hernandez gets the tough leadoff spot on the first night. You have to be great going off first so people don't forget you 2 hours later when it's time to vote. He starts off pretty smooth, better than most of the guys from last year, before hitting some rough notes at the end. The judges kind of agree. I'll give a B-.

Chikezie is next and I think he's showing a little nervousness in his voice to start. I didn't recognize the song to start off, but I think he's pretty smooth with it. Simon hates everything, I don't agree. I'd give a B-.

Now it's rocker David Cook. Starts off slow with So happy together..the song picks up but I think his voice is kind of pitchy throughout. I'm not big on it but Randy and Paula think it's great. I'd only give a C+.

Jason Yeager's turn..the one I'm hoping does well. His kid looks like Bobby Brady.=) Must be a single dad. Oh oh, Moon River is risky choice, and he's not making it too memorable. Anwar Robinson did great with this 3 years ago..but he's not there. Nice guy though. I'll give a C+.

Robbie Carrico is the ex pop singer gone rocker. I like the song "One", always a 3 dog night fan. He's doing a solid job with it. Still don't think he rocks, and Simon thinks like me, a pop performer. I'll give a B.

Now my boy David Archuleta is on..I love this kid! Such confidence without being cocky. Such a humble person, and he does a great job with You Better Shop Around. His reaction afterwords is classic..my wife wants to adopt him too. The judges agree he's the best. Grade..A

Danny Noriega is next..the anti-David Archuleta. I think he's got a good voice, but his whole smug attitude turns me off. I'll give a B- for the Elvis song, but I'm glad Simon thought it was terrible.

Luke and Colton I can lump together..just average. Luke has a little bit of Jody from Avalon in him. he had a hard time with the lower notes. Colton was forgetable too. Maybe I'm spoiled from watching season 2 on rewind and seeind awesome singers like Ruben, Clay, Josh Gracin and Rickey Smith. This years group doesn't hold a candle to them so far. I'd give both guys a C+.

Next is the guy who looks like my awesome peep Kyal...Garrett Haley. I actually kind of like his voice, but he looks scared up there. I was right, this theme night idea is not good. All these kids look so uncomfortable singing songs from another era, then get called out for not sounding current, I'll give Kyal..er, I mean Garrett, a B-.

Now it's time for a little P.O.D...oh, it's Jason Castro..whoops. This kid might not have super pipes but he's remarkably at ease for someone who says he's only played in front of people 5 times. Another humble kid. The judges dig him. I'd give a B+. By the way, Is Paula drunk tonight? Simon is at his funniest, makes up for the lack of great performances.

Michael Johns is last, they like to save the best for last, lets see if he backs it up. He does!..Sings what he did in Hollywood, Light My Fire. he has Daughtry potential. I can see people downloading that song, most of the others, no way! give him an A.

So if I were to rank them, David A and Michael were far away the best. Hearing them all for 5 seconds at the end, I think David Hernandez was top 5 with Jason and Robbie. There are a ton of people who aren't safe..Jason, Garrrett..Luke..Colton. I'll pick my bottom 2 to be voted off later, to practice for our contest.

What did you think? Do I overate David A? Was Paula drunk? Does Danny has what it takes to be this year's Sanjaya? Give me your takes!

Next week starts official Idol overload..5 hours of watching. How can we get anything else done? That's why I don't watch any other shows in the spring. It's tough for me on Wednesday's night when I go to Church. I have to squeeze in seeing the show before the results show on Thursday. I'm glad my wife likes the show, or she would give me the same look as when I watch football for 6 hours or more on Sunday..not good! otherwise I'm a devoted husband. I squeeze in my blogs when she is busy and my kids aren't playing webkinz!

Anyway, all your feedback has been great. Karen from Submerged asked me what I think of singers who used to have record contracts, like Carly, Michael Johns, and Kristy Lee. I don't have a problem with it, but I prefer to see a fresh act who never had a chance before do well, all things being equal. If it comes down to Michael or Kristy, who I both love, against a newcomer without the talent, I'd vote for the ex-pro's. On The Next Great American Band, my heroes the Clark Brother's won, despite having a record contract as the Clark Family Experiance. That was a whole different band though, the new Clark brothers was just 3 brothers. I had more of a problem with Sixwire and Denver, who both had deals as the band that appeared on the show.

After 7 years the search for untaped talent might be getting tougher..but there has to be a ton of Carrie Underwood's out there if given a chance. I will be rooting for David Archuleta, even though he has appeared on Star Search and stuff, at least he hasn't had a record deal.

My other problem is never even showing just a second of 4 of the men. Jason Yeager is a Christian, but I can't give him his props until I hear his voice. Will he sound like his hero, Steve Perry? Or Luke Perry? I remember telling everyone about Heather a few years ago after reading about her faith, but she was terrible and quickly got the ax.

The guys who weren't shown are at a big disadvantage the first few weeks, people vote for people they have seen. Those guys are gonna have to blow the roof off, like unknown Bo Bice did 3 years ago. The strangers look like nice guys..Jason Castro looks like he cpold be the new singer for P.O.D., and Garrett looks a little like my cool peep Kyal.

As for the girls, everyone got some audition time. I couldn't remember Amy Davis, so I youtubed her audition. She came in with tons of cleavage, and Simon had a yes smile before she even sang. I'm predicting she might be this year's Haley. I gave Haley props last year at auditions, then she turned into just a legs showoff. As for Carly, I've been hard on her..but her musical hero is Bono, so she can't be all bad! After all, she did sell a whopping 7,000 units of her RCA release in 2001. I think Sanjaya sold more bootleg copies than that. I think the woman I'll be pulling for are Asia'h, Amanda, and Kristy. Maybe Alaina if she appears more humble.

Now for some cool links. Entertainment Weekly has a great website devoted to Idol. They do these really funny video's called Idolatry, where the writers in the magazine all shoot the breeze about the show in their cubicles at work. Sometimes someone like Jordin, Blake or Melionda pop in! Check it out at:

http://www.ew.com/ew/video/idolatry?lineupId=1213979429&videoId=1399221711?xid=email-alert-americanidol-20080204-item2

Now when the show gets down to top 12, I'll be having the official myccm Idol contest, but if you want to start predicting who is going to get booted off now, you can do a national contest with prizes and stuff! Go to this link for info:

http://slimtainment.com/idolblog/1135

On this site you will also see links to lots of other stuff and photo's and the like.

I'll be taking a blog break until tuesday's show. I'm going to try a "Live" blog, where I'll be commenting on the singers as they perform, and YOU can leave comments during the show as well during a commercial break..believe me, there will be a million of those! If I get any response I'll try to do it more. Don't know if it will fly though..we'll have to see. Have a great week, and I'll try to get back to all those commenting..Jim

Some of you have been asking how Abby is coming along! I'm happy to say very well. She has been eating special food, but is keeping it down. Hopefully when we switch to the dry food she will be able to handle it. Katie didn't recognize her when she got home from 2 days at the vet. Cats must go more by smell than sight. She hissed at poor Abby for days, but now are finally starting to play and act like themselves. Abby got her leg shaved when the IV was put in, and her leg looks like a poodle! Check it out!

Thanks for your prayers...Abby and my family appreciate it!

Hey Idol lovers..I will run down the contestants more in the next few days. I did put the pictures of who I believe are the Christian contestants in my photo section. Jason Yeager plays in a worship band, but I've never heard him sing yet!

The purpose of this blog is to endorse my candidate..no, not for President..something far more interesting...the winner of this year's Idol..David Archuleta!

Can anyone remember the last great teen boy on the show? (Or the last great Black male..but that's another rant.) I can't either..that's why I think the public is ready for one..and you can't get a more wholesome, humble and likeable teen than David. The final straw in getting my endorsement was the fact in his American Idol website interview he said he enjoyed gospel music. Though that doesn't mean that he is a believer..it's a good chance that he might be. Like Jordin last year, he's been in singing competitions since he was a young boy.

I found some cool clips of him. This one is him singing "Mary Did You Know."http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQxi9UjqfKQ&feature=related

Now this one is tops..he meets Kelly Clarkson out in the parking lot a few years ago, and sings one of her songs and blows her away!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8SJXDPE_sQ&feature=related

So..who is your early pick? We really are just guessing until we hear them all sing a few times..but it's fun guessing!

Go David!

Since I did that quick blog to hold you over last night, I'm gonna wait until a day or two to have my official comments on the top 24. I still have to investagate who the Christians are and stuff!

So for today I just want to wish you a great Valentine;s day. I saw this in the Daily bread and thought it was cool.

Have a blessed day. Love you guys in the name of Jesus!..Jim

It's late so I only have a few minutes. I will have much, much, more in the top 24 in the days to come. But here is my initial takes.

I was happy that Joanne beat out Cardin. (sorry Tanya!) Since I did the initial blog on Cardin I was never impressed. I was afraid she might be another Haley, getting by on her looks. I like Joanne because I have a special liking to plus size black singers. Mandisa...Lakisha..Jennifer from years past. The girls have a nice variety...got my country fix in Kristy and Alaina, a possible Christian in Brooke, a cool rocker chick in Amanda, a Nadia Turner type in Syesha, a great story in Asia'h, a little cutie in Ramielle, a funny girl in Kady..(remember the Britney Spears imitation?) just to name a few. Carly is probably my least favorite..she scares me.

The guys have many unknowns..Kyle would have breezed to top 12 if Simon got his way and got him through. I don't like having so many David's..will make it tough to write about! Michael Johns and the 16 year old David are the best from what I've seen..but one of those unknowns might be awesome, who knows?

Well..gotta go to bed..more later!..Jim

Another great Hollywood week show..I wish they made that a 3 hour show, because there was so many great contestants they never showed, like Drew, Kady and Alaina. I don't even know if the latter two are even in the top 50. Some they showed doing terrible like Cardin, but she's in the top 50. She reminds me so much of Katharine McPhee when the suave guy was kissing her in the back room.

I missed the group auditions, though the way they did it this year with a second chance was probably a more fair way to do it. I also liked it more when they put them in 3 rooms and chose 2 of them to go through..you could actually see everyone in the top 50.

So who do I want in the the top 24? Well, Brooke White I think is a Christian, she did awesome with her piano song at the beginning of the show. I'm just worried because in the attractions for tomorrow she's crying as she leaves the room..hopefully it's tears of joy.

There are a ton of great voices this year..that 16 year old David Archulata and Aussie Michael Johns are sure fire locks. I get a big kick out of Kyle..anyone who sings "You Raise Me Up" gets my approval. I loved Josiah until the end..not sure if he can work well with a band..not a good thing on this show.

As for the woman..I hope Kristy lee Cook gets through, though I would have liked to hear her sing another song besides Amazing Grace..I already know she does that song great. The girl who's dad died two day's before auditions, Asia'h, was awesome. Couldn't believe that Angela, who had the daughter with medical problems, lost her dad too. Too bad she was cut. I'll tell you the one I think is OVERRATED is Carly from Ireland. They keep pushing her like she's the next Celine Dion, and she does nothing for me. Her version of Alone couldn't hold a glass of water to the original or Carrie Underwood's version.

So tomorrow will be the show of tension..the judges usually blow it on at least one or two..last year it was Sanjaya and that girl who had the racy internet photo's. The judges have no one to blame but themselves when freaks like those keep getting votes. That's why I doubt they will take a chance on Kyle..he could be another Kevin from 2 years ago..a nice guy but won't be able to do many different style's.

I'll be at Church tomorrow night, so look for my takes on the top 24 Thursday night, OK? Thanks for reading! Oh, I have been getting lots of great feedback..at least 20 peeps have giving me takes in these comments boxes or personal messages..I appreciate it, and it makes this more fun to do. I try to respond back to anyone who comments, but if I get a little behind, I'm sorry!

Until next time...Jimmy

Thanks for all your prayers and concerns for Abby! She just got home from her stay at the vet. He gave her bland canned food all day and so far she is keeping it down. They couldn't find anything wrong with her, so the vet is hoping the antibiotic for the bladder infection a few weeks ago set her stomach off and it's just starting to settle down. Stupid Katie is hising at her..she thinks a new cat entered the house or something! LOL. here they are during better times..which should return soon! keep praying the food stays in her tummy this week, and can go back to the same stuff we feed Katie!

My cat Katie is kind of famous for being my profile picture and being in the CCM picture contest last month. She gets more pictures taken because she is the ultimate people cat, always hanging with us and sitting on our lap. My other one Abby, has more of a curious personality, always moving around. Unfortunately, she has had some medical issue's the last month. First, it was urinating all over, so she went on meds for a bladder infection. Now the last 10 days or so she throws up shortly after eating. We've tried changing foods, to no avail. We took her to the vet a couple more times, and today they even did blood work and x-rays, but they can't find anything wrong with her. Thet are keeping her overnight to give her fluids, but if she keeps this up we might have no other option but to put her down. The vet bills and cleaning up after her is too much. The family and especially Katie would miss her greatly..they cuddle up every night to sleep. Please pray for a miracle to save this little cutie! Thank You!

Some of you have told me you didn't know Tommy Shaw's music after reading my last blog. Check him out from just a few weeks ago with TO doing the classic "Blue Collar Man"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh3YxM1wzs4

Just posted some Tommy Shaw pictures for fellow Styx peep Melody, thought this would be a cool time to share something that led me to what I do today..communicating to people all over the world!

It was 1981..Styx was my favorite band. I went to church but wasn't really living for the Lord, and never heard of Christian music that was any good. (I would discover Petra the next year..and the rest is history..but that's another story!)

I saw something in Circus magazine about someone wanting Styx fans penpals. I had a New York Yankee penpal from Long Island, so I thought it would be kind of fun. Anyway, she was cool, and about 6 month's later she said she was putting together a list of all her penpals (peeps today!) for anyone who wanted to get to know other fans. Anyway, there was over 40 of us, and I was the only guy! Needless to say, I was contacted by just about everyone. Oh, how I wish there was internet then..but the post office made lots of money with all the letters. =) They used to have these friendship booklets back in the day..where you put who you liked and it got passed on to others. Eventually I started liking Christian music, and I started sharing about these groups. A few of my Styx fans started getting into the music, and at least one got saved, my dear friend Nonnie from Texas. She had come up once to see Tommy Shaw, but then she started coming up for our Kingdom Bound music festival a few times! I also started meeting lots of other Christian music fans..a lot of my classic pictures of Stryper and others in my photo's are from some of those friends. That's why doing this myccm thing is so neat for me..it's something I have done since the days before internet!

Back to Styx..I was always praying Tommy Shaw would get saved. he was the nicest guy, and got to know his address and we wrote back and forth for years. Below I will have one of his letters. A couple of guys in his solo band did end up playing in Christian bands, but I never heard that Tommy got saved. I thought if Kerry Livgren of Kansas and Lou Gramm of Foreigner could get saved, maybe there was a chance for Tommy... keep praying for him! (Later note..sorry this letter isn't legible..if I make it full size it messes up my blog...you would have to keep moving the text to read it)

Here is a picture of us!

Thanks for reading my trip down memory lane..Jim

my buddy Craig just had a great blog about David Meece, here is a sidenote!

I saw him in 1989 when I just started dating my wife. We went with a couple of other friends from our drama team. Anyway..David was taking requests and our friend Joy yells out.."All of Me, David, All of Me!" I still to this day don't know if that is actually one of his songs, but it came across as something much more, to say the least! I still laugh every time I think of it.

Here is a picture of his concert, and my wife with him. I don't have permission to show our friends so I blocked them out.

It was bad enough thet CCM magazine will be no more..now my local Christian music station is going to 60's music. The hor