The theme for the week was indeed Top Downloads from iTunes, but they clearly used a different list than what I linked to this weekend, as there were several songs performed that weren’t there. I suspect they included some of the top downloads over a longer period of time in their actual list.

The wider selection of songs meant it wasn’t the non-stop train wreck I feared it would be. There were a couple of those, however.

Marketing geeks (like me!) should be sure not to miss my article in MarketingProfs, Seven Tips for Marketing Events With Paid Search. It was published today.

In the article, I explain how to get the most out of using paid search to promote events. Due to the time-sensitive (and time-limited) nature of events, they do require special consideration.

I hope you find the article helpful!

The American Idol team is keeping the theme for the Top Nine unusually secret. It’s not clear whether this is intentional or not.

According to unconfirmed reports, the theme will be iTunes Downloads. Looking at the list of top downloads for iTunes, I don’t expect to make any suggestions of what the contestants should perform. I’m not sure I’m culturally knowledgeable enough to do so.

Tonight was an Obama-presser delayed Thursday night results show. They started with the usual crappy group sing that I skipped.

Next was the Ford Music Video, which hardly showed the Idols at all. It showed the vehicles a lot though, which suggests that maybe Ford is figuring out what advertising is supposed to accomplish.

Austin, Texas had one heck of an early spring storm today. Stupid, cocky me thought I could beat it home. I only had about two miles left when the hail began.

Fortunately, a MINI Cooper can squeeze into spaces under a gas station awning way too small for normal cars. I escaped with only a couple of small dings that you can’t see unless you’re looking for them.

Given the two inches of hail on the ground after it ended, that’s not too bad.

It was Motown Week for American Idol, with mentors Smokey Robinson and Barry Gordy. It didn’t seem that Gordy did much except show them around Motown Records, however.

One big change this week is that the backup singers were down on the stage next to the performer. The backup singers have been a weak point all season long, and this seemed to help a lot.

On to the performances.

© Copyright 2009 J.D. Crowe – All Rights Reserved.

In the Hudson’s Bend area of RR620 in Austin, Texas is a little known Mexican restaurant called the Iguana Grill. Imagine a place with the ambiance of the Oasis, but with much better food.

If you’re heading south on RR620 from Round Rock or Cedar Park, the Iguana Grill is a couple of blocks past Hudson’s on the Bend on the right. Like the Oasis, it is on a cliff overlooking Lake Travis, but in the case of the Iguana Grill it is overlooking a long, narrow inlet.

I’ve been taking astrophotographic pictures for a few months now, and while I’m certainly no expert, there are a few things I’ve learned. I’d like to share some of the insights I’ve had taking such pictures with my Nikon D200. Most of the advice should be translatable to any digital SLR.

To begin with, yes, you can take good photos of astronomical objects with a digital SLR. But, no, you’re not going to get closeups of planets with such a setup.

The longest lens you’re likely to have is a slow 500mm. Not accounting for any crop factor your camera might have, that’s only a 10x magnification. Most planetary observers use telescopes in the 20x to 30x range. That would be equivalent to a 1,000mm to 1,500mm lens!

I’ve got a good friend names Steve. After growing up in San Antonio, he went to school at Duke. He’s a calm, quiet-spoken fellow, until you get him talking about Duke basketball.

He instantly turns into a rapid Duke fan. It must be something they put in the water there.