American Idol...the Final Four

Notice I didn't say the Fantastic Four. There's only one of these people who has consistently impressed me this season and that's David Cook. The rest of them....notsomuch.Having said that, I'll have to also say that David Cook's first song last night was somewhat less than stellar, in my opinion. But his second one was right on the money. Loved it. I will so be buying his CD whenever it comes out. Syesha thrilled me not. At all. Either song. The first one seemed like Tina Turner Lite (as in lightweight talent) and the second one darn near put me to sleep. Until that big screech at the end, that is. Jason Castro...ahhh, what can you say about the Flower Child of the 21 Century? lol It wasn't until the playback at the end of the show that I even realized what song he was singing the first time around (I remember Eric Clapton's version of that song. Hated it, too!). His second song was much better. Crying shame he forgot the lyrics. Still, I thought the judges were bordering on cruel with him. Makes me wonder what he's done to piss them off behind the scenes. lol Finally, David Archuleta. You know, this kid is incredibly sweet and he just seems so darn nice. And his singing is very nice, too. But that's all I think it is. Nice. Not fabulous. Not incredible. Just nice. But I'm in the minority with that opinion. Most people seem to love his voice. And the truth is, he's such a pleasant personality that it wouldn't break my heart to see him win. But my bet is still on David Cook "for the gold". I think he's definitely got the best future in music! What did ya'll think?

Now before I forget, the Crock Pot Queen (that's ME guys, keep up!) would like to bring you the world's easiest and tastiest pulled pork recipe. Here it is:

Barbecued Pulled Pork Sandwiches
1 pork shoulder roast (about 2 1/2 pounds)
1 bottle (14 ounces) barbecue sauce (I use KC Masterpiece)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 medium chopped onion (I use dry, minced onions just 'cause I like 'em)
buns or hard rolls

1. Place pork roast in crock pot. Cover and cook on LOW 10 to 12 hours or on HIGH 5 to 6 hours or until done. Now the recipe doesn't say so, but I just can't bring myself to stick that chunk of meat in there without at least some moisture so I add about 3/4 of an inch of water. Maybe you're not supposed to and this is one of those tell tale signs that I'm not a real cook! lol
2. Remove pork after it's done; discard cooking liquid (wonder how much there'd be without that water I added?). Anywho, shred the roast using two forks (pulling it apart, hence the name! duh!). Return pork to crock pot and add barbecue sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar and onion. Cover and cook on LOW 2 hours or on HIGH for 1 hour.
3. Serve on buns or hard rolls.
I'm telling you guys...this is so flippin' easy and tastes sooooooo good. You'll love it. It passes the family taste for yum-0 and the Kari test for easy to make. Thems high standards ya'll! lol

Now for some funny ads from the '70s. Let's just say...WE'VE COME A LONG WAY, BABY!

Yeah. 'Cause I'm all about making "my guy" comfortable during my period. It's the way I've always been.
I loved this shampoo. Don't remember having a boy in science lab hanging all over me just to sniff my hair, but maybe that just means I wasn't using it right. Or maybe the frog innards we were forced to examine kept me too distracted to notice. I'll never know now. lol Oh, and you can still buy it, too. For about $14 bucks a bottle!

And does anybody remember Love's Baby Soft fragrance? It was a great scent for young girls. But in retrospect, and taking into account their advertisements for it, just who were us young girls supposed to be smelling good for? Yikes! This ad looks like something that would have run in Pedophilia Monthly. The girl looks about 8 years old and is wearing more make-up than Gene Simmons at a KISS concert. Icky, icky, icky. Oh yeah, can you see the Love's Baby Soft slogan? "Because innocence is sexier than you think". Eeeeeeeeewwwwwwwww!

And on that disturbing note, I'll sign off. I feel like I should go take a shower now because that last ad made me feel ookie. This'll teach me to take a stroll down Memory Lane with products of yester-year! lol

Alright, I can't leave on that note. It's just too freaky. So here's another ad from those fun-loving '70s. One of the famous Virginia Slims "You've Come A Long Way, Baby" ads! Funny thing about these ads...I love, love, love the concept of how far women had actually come by the '70s (although we've come even further since and still have many, many metaphorical miles to go before we arrive!). But I'm pretty sure that the whole struggle for equality wasn't about smoking a cigarette with ease in public. lol And let me just throw this out there to 'ya...I, personally, smoked for 25 years and, at or near the beginning of my smoking experience, Virginia Slims was my brand of choice. I smoked a lot of them, I did. Lots and lots. And not one time did I ever glance into a mirror and see myself morphing into a Cheryl Tiegs type super model. What the heck? These ads almost promised me I'd be glamorous and independent if only I smoked Virginia Slims! (Dirty, rotten, filthy liars - that's all I have to say about those people!) But don't you just love the slogan on this particular ad? "The Virginia Slims Tool Kit. Because you've got more to fix than your face." Okay, so maybe they did try to tell me I wouldn't ever look like Cheryl. But I think they should have marketed more than a stupid tool kit and a pack of cigarettes if they wanted to really help me out with that!