SmIdol Chatter

Last week I made an appearance on a Podcast with a few funny guys who do one called "Tell 'em Steve Dave."
Bryan, Brian and Walt are the three main characters on the show who record their efforts in the back of a comic book store in Red Bank, NJ owned by Kevin Smith (and I think Jason Mewes as well) who is Silent Bob of movie fame.

I sort of dread these things because there is always a chance that there isn't a good hypnosis candidate in the small groups of people that are in an audience.
But any chance to promote what I do, especially during a slow period, is welcome so I went up for the day.
Don't you know that there was some sort of sound issue? I guess it was corrected in the middle of it, but the first part of the show had audio issues that pretty much ruined it.
So it didn't air when it was originally supposed to air but part one of two aired yesterday.
To cut the long story short, one of the guys sidekicks (Ming Chen) was hypnotized during the show. Walt, who is a hypnosis skeptic, is then talking to Ming during part one. Ming is now claiming that he was "going along with it" the whole time and of course now Walt is even more skeptical, I think.
Apparently they thought it was their best show in the year that they had been doing this show, so that was good.
But the problem for me is Ming's claim. And it's one I hear every now and then...that the subject was just playing along.
When a person is hypnotized they are fully conscious at all times. In fact, their senses are hightened during the process.
What can make a skeptic skeptical is the reaction that the subject has when he or she wakes. On this day Ming didn't remember what had happened during the time he was hypnotized. He experienced spontaneous amnesia, which certainly happens frequently enough.
But because he was conscious and because he was being told what happened, he began to remember what had taken place. Also because he was conscious he believed that he was going along with what was happening. And that is because he WAS going along with what was happening but not because he was "faking it."
What many people will say after having that experience is that they thought what I was saying was sort of silly or odd but it sounded like a good idea, or something similar.
In the end hypnosis is really just about having someone follow a suggestion that is given to them. If a person is following the suggestion after reaching a nice level or relaxation, they are hypnotized. If they don't they either aren't hypnotized, didn't understand the suggestion, or simply refused to do it because the suggestion crossed some sort of boundary that the individual has.

What was odd about hearing Part One of the "Smodcast" as they are called on http://www.smodcast.com/, is hearing these guys talk about me later. They made general comments about my appearance and demeanor but also were speculating about all my actions and how they did, or did not, relate to what I was going to do in the studio that day.

I'll never tell what anything that I did or said or wore had any relation to hypnosis that day except to say, "yes."


Now for my next point.
I don't really know why I bother writing this blog. My own girl friend doesn't even read it. In two months now there are about 80 views. That is a blow to the ego. But, so be it. It is a creative release for me and I need one.

I need a bigger release though. I have a lot to say about a lot of things. The podcast that these guys do has me thinking about doing one of my own. The trouble with all of these creative things whether they are blogs, online videos, podcasts, songs, books, art or anything else that one might create along those lines is that there normally is not a lot of money in doing it.
Take Walt from the podcast mentioned. Walt Flanigan is his full name. He is an unbelievable artist. He worked with Kevin Smith on the drawings in a series of Batman comic books. Unreal stuff. Perhaps he is a multi-million dollar guy, but I didn't get that impression when I met him. He should be one though. His work is absolutely amazing.
I've even been told that my work (with my hypnosis shows) is amazing. I seem to think that it isn't because I am not one of those multi-million dollar guys either. It makes me wonder why things work out for some people and why it doesn't for others.

Take the winner of America Idol two years ago, Kris Allen. Oh yeah, it was Kris Allen and not Adam Lambert. Here is an example of something that really makes no sense to me. Allen was VOTED as the winner over Lambert which meant that he was more popular, yet now it's Lambert who gets more attention and was just on American Idol this past week.

Adam Lambert and Kris Allen

I sometimes think that popularity is more important than talent if you look at who earns more. Now, for me, I knew in my mind that Lambert was going to be the one from whom we heard or more because he was clearly better. But I figured that with that voting Allen was going to do well also. Here is a case where I was wrong and it makes me even more confused because it seemed to work out the way that it should!

Yes, I watch American Idol. I am watching it even without Simon Cowell even though I swore that I wouldn't watch it at all, even during the funny auditions.
I suppose that if my career was booming, I wouldn't watch it, or have the time to do so, but its not so I do.
I'll tell you, though, there are a few amazing kids on this year's show.
I originally thought that it was a lock that the winner was going to be one of the guys. Now, I am not totally sure.
Everyone has their own fans and anyone can debate me as they seem fit, but I happen to be pretty good at picking these things.
On the girls side the best is Pia Toscano and the one who jumped into my contention for winner. She busted out a Celine Dion version of "All by Myself" a week ago that blew me away. No one usually takes on Celine Dion and comes away un-redfaced.

Pia Toscano

Here is the link to that performance.

http://www.americanidol.com/videos/season_10/performances/pia_toscano_all_by_myself/?ref=ai10_contestants_profile_judge_comments

And clearly, she is hot.

The other three girls of note are Haley Reinhardt (who actually was bottom three in votes last week though), 15-year old Thia Megia (the name I keep saying over and over again) and 16-year old Lauren Alaina. The latter two are just adorable and are clearly popular. Reinhardt has necessary sex appeal and is quite talented also.

Karen Rodriguez and Naima Adedapo are the other two. Adedapo was a wild-card choice who shouldn't have gotten one. Rodriguez makes a huge mistake on this show though by continually mentioning her ethnicity. I'll refrain from diving into that deeper but suffice it to say that I find it offensive.

Over to the guys.
There are four unbelievable talents here with four different styles and this is a real tough call.
Alphabetically...
Casey Abrams might be the one with the most overall talent since he plays a couple of instruments also. He did a Joe Cocker song last week that killed and that style fits him well.

Casey Abrams

James Durbin. He is the rocker. Style-wise, think Adam Lambert. He sort of has that high-pitched scream that Lambert used to blow away Idol crowds in Season 8. But this week he did a Paul McCartney version of "Maybe I'm Amazed" that blew me away.

James Durbin.

When these contestants reach this far it is clear that they have a likeability factor as well as a certain level of talent. Jacob Lusk is one of those real likeable guys to me. The judges compare him to Luther Vandross. I never really listened much to Luther, but if you did and don't watch Idol, I guess you'll have a good idea about his style. I thought he pooped the bed last week and I believe he thought so too, but he has given a couple of performances that sent chills up my spine they were so good. I see him as a final-four guy.

Jacob Lusk

And the other contender is Scott McCreery, who is 17. He is the country singer in the group and he is so country that it almost redefines it. He is also humble and very likeable. He also looks like Alfred E. Neumann's long lost son. (Look it up if you have no clue who that is.) While I don't think he is the best of the five contenders for the winner (that I think are the five) his voice is so cut out for his genre that he will gather significant support from country fans. And his voice will still get better since he is young.

Scotty McCreery

The five pictured, I believe, will all be recording stars. I do also think that Alaina and Megia will record in the future and Reinhardt will have a shot also, provided that she steps up big in the next couple of weeks.
In all of the seasons that I have watched Idol, I have not come close to saying that many of the contenders will get that type of success.

Done