Inane Inanity

1. Yeah I watch American Idol. I'm not proud of it, and have tried to kick it, but I am powerless. Here are my thoughts so far this year:


a. Ellen critiques like a deer in the headlights. She's Paula without the drugs and drama. Oh, and she needs a thesaurus; her only adjective is "great". It's embarrassing to see her try to keep up with the others. And really, except for Simon how hard can that be? Simon is usually spot-on. He can be caustic but he's usually right. Watch Ellen use her non-existent comedic skills more often as a fall-back to her inability to critique.


b. Looks like a guy will win again this year, although many are lousy. The girls are equally lousy and more so.


c. Best comment so far: Simon telling a contestant that their performance was uninspired and limp "...much like our host (Ryan Secrest)."


d. Second best comment: Kera describing distractions in performing like people getting up and moving around to a contestant who sang spooked. Simon whispered in response to his performance, "...likely heading for the door."

2. I'm heading North soon. I have a fantasy baseball draft to attend, do some work on my rental house in BFE, do some riding with my friends, breakfast with the MDH Retired Club, and attend CC functions.

3. This is a picture of my animal sitting abilities last month at Mackenzie and Drew's house when they visited the Illinois tundra.

Sleeping contentedly is Bishop and the cat (I so love them) Cinnamon who couldn't resist my warm lap.

4. Hoping brother Mark and the Oakview Country Club guys are enjoying some of our great Florida weather down in Sarasota. By the way, I hear the robins in the morning and have gotten rid of the long pants and hoody. It's warm again.

5. Brendan went to see Shutter Island and liked it a lot. I generally think his views on movies are pretty good. He has stumbled a couple of times but he is still young and doesn't always aim high for quality.

6. Speaking of quality: I'm not a big TV watcher. Sitcoms bore me, and most dramas are formulaic and bland. Last year I caught Survivor again after discarding it and I like it again. This years' Heroes vs. Villains is pretty good so far.

7. Just about ready to end another viewing of The Wire, you know, that HBO series of a few years back that is considered by many to be the best ever show on TV. Hooked the family on it and we just have 3 more episodes left.

8. I'm going to go look at a dog fairly soon. It is a Catahoula Leopard and Border Collie mix. I don't know if I'm ready for another one but looking can't hurt, can it? Her name is Cami. Cute, isn't she?

9. Only about 30 percent of all books make money.

10. Wash. man electrocuted by urinating on power line:

MONTESANO, Wash. (AP) - Authorities believe a Washington man was killed by accidentally urinating on a downed power line after a car crash.
Grays Harbor County sheriff's Deputy Dave Pimentel (PIM'-en-tel) said Monday 50-year-old Roy Messenger was not seriously hurt after he collided with a power pole Friday and called a relative to pull his car from a ditch.

However, family members found Messenger electrocuted when they arrived.

Pimentel says Messenger apparently urinated into a roadside ditch but didn't see the live wire. The urine stream likely served as a conductor, allowing the electricity to reach his body.

Pimentel says there will be an autopsy but burn marks indicated the way the electricity traveled through Messenger's body.

11. I don't watch a lot of TV (I watch the shows I want on Hulu) and I watch even less commercials. I have already ranted on the progressive lady (creepy), and had the misfortune to see other vapid, stupid, dumbing and numbing marketing tactics that lower IQs. Therefore I have decided NOT to watch them. I keep a crossword puzzle, DS, or other activity to do while the emptiness of Madison Avenue plays in the room. I urge everyone to so the same and when someone at work asks you if you saw the commercial for _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (insert product) you can smile, and respond with a higher IQ, "No, I didn't."

12. Since I don't want to go through Atlanta again I am travelling up to Dothan Alabama then on to Birmingham. That will be new territory for me.

13. What is a single definition of a great movie? This from Roger Ebert's website:

One aspect? Just one? I always quote Derek Malcolm, the London film critic, who said, "a great film is a film you cannot bear the thought of never being able to see again."

14. A French Catholic church is, for Lent, establishing a Cord-For-The-Lord phone number for busy penitents to confess. What, can't Twitter your sins?