Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

Copyright 2006, Fox Broadcasting

Clockwise from top left: Kinnik Sky, Will Makar, Gedeon McKinney, Ayla Brown

On American Idol last night, Kinnik Sky was the lowest vote getter among the women, meaning she was eliminated. No big surprise there: she definitely didn't have much of a fan base.

Surprisingly, though, Ayla Brown was the second lowest vote getter and was also sent packing. Only a week before, she'd been receiving all sorts of praise for her performance. I guess voters have short memories. She could barely hold it together and was falling apart as she sang one more time.

I doubt that Melissa McGhee squeaked by Ayla by very much. She'll have to really raise her performance level to stay in the game.

Among the guys, the lowest vote getter, no surprise, was Will "Peter Brady" Makar. I guess he couldn't rally the 11-year-old girl vote. Next lowest was Gedeon McKinney. While he's talented, for certain, he does have a very strange personality, which probably was his undoing. Plus, Kevin "Fievel" Covais seems to have a loyal teenybopper fan base, and Bucky Covington seems to have the "good ole boy" vote. Still, unless Bucky does something outstanding, he's likely to be the next guy to leave.

The order by which the 12 finalists were called to their chairs may or may not be significant. The women were called in the following order: Paris Bennett, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Mandisa, Lisa Tucker, Melissa McGhee. The guys were called in the following order: Taylor Hicks, Ace Young, Chris Daughtry, Kevin Covais, Elliott Yamin, Bucky Covington.

If these results reflect the votes received, then the contestants who have the most to prove as the final showdown begins are Lisa, Melissa, Elliott and Bucky. And it would also mean that, even though Mandisa had the strongest performance of the evening, more people felt strongly about Paris, Katharine and Kellie. It's going to be an interesting fight to the top, for sure.

More on American Idol:

Musings on American Idol Season 5 (2006)

Musings on American Idol Season 4 (2005)

Musings on American Idol Season 3 (2004)

At obedience class last night, our instructor was absent, and the class was taught by one of her assistants, the same pet store owner who told me about the course in the first place.

Throughout the evening, we worked on refining some of the commands we already knew. We started out with halting while you're at "heel." The dog is supposed to sit down nicely just next to you. To teach the dog, you initially say "sit" and guide them, but then you work on getting them to do it without the verbal command. Una didn't have a problem with this, except for the positioning. They wanted her to be facing forward and sitting close to me, and she kept swinging her butt outward so she could look at me. The instructor showed me that I could get her to sit properly by guiding her with my hand as she sat.

Then we worked on "sit and stay" with distractions. We'd give the command, and then someone else would walk up, talk to us, circle the dog and basically be distracting. The dog was supposed to stay in position. The first couple times, Una had trouble with this, but with some corrections, she got better.

After that, we did the same thing with "down and stay." Both of these will be really helpful for times when we visit other family members or friends. I need to make certain that Una will listen to me even when there are distractions such as other people or animals.

Then we practiced, using our longer leashes, putting the dog in "sit and stay" and then getting some distance away before calling them, using "come." This took Una a little bit; she tried to follow me at first. But once she got the hang of this new game (for it's all fun and games to dogs), she liked it, because she got to run.

I was happy to see that Una was doing a lot better then some of the younger dogs, who had reached a plateau in their training and decided they didn't want to listen any more. The instructors spent a lot of time working with them and giving them tips, while Una and I were contentedly working on things by ourselves and doing very well.

Guess that's one advantage to starting obedience training so late.

I was also pleased with Una because she didn't bark at any of the dogs as they entered the room this time. I praised her every time another dog entered and she didn't bark. The only time she did bark was when a man entered in the middle of the session, unexpectedly. He was there for a beginner's class which was starting immediately after our class. I told her "Quiet," though, and she got quiet right away.

It's like my instructor said: it's not bad for a dog to bark. It's only bad if they don't listen to you when you tell them to be quiet. So far, Una seems to be learning that when I say "Quiet" I mean it. Hopefully, reinforcement of this lesson will lead to longtime learning.

I've joked with people that this class is like finishing school for Una, since she knows how to do certain things very well but is basically a big goon when it comes to interacting in public. So far, I can see a difference. My doggie's going to be a little lady yet!

More Musings on Una's Obedience Classes

Copyright 2005 by Alyce Wilson

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