Carrie, Anthony, Bo and Vonzell

Got it.

I'm thinking, what if I had Lisa's life--working at the Washington Post, living in Georgetown with my devoted pets, running into Joel on the street to chat about our mutual interests...nice, right? But if the price of this idyllic existence was having to watch every minute (or even one minute) of American Idol??? Nuh-uh.

I'll stay here at my corporate job with my clueless friends--at least I can read books between dinner and bedtime.

They should definitely give her a raise. Or combat pay.

She enjoys it, Joel, don't you sit in on her live chats? It's really not a bad gig when you think about it...and you get all the tapes of the shows ahead of time, which would be so cool!

Good question -- why IS it so much fun to be mean? We aren't bad people, we've just developed this bad habit of attacking each other (and attacking ourselves). It's almost an automatic reflex. In the words of the late George Harrison, Isn't it a pity?

I don't know if it's being mean, but I got an intense joy out of seeing Rob and Amber beat at their own game last night on Amazing Race--and by the people who were NICE to everyone else no less! (They were the first to give clothes and money to the other teams who had all money and belongings taken away from them earlier).

They played to win (and win they did) but they didn't try to bribe anyone to get advantage, they always thanked those who helped them, and were thoughtful to their competitors. Wow!

Delicious satisfaction that! I guess nice guys don't always finish last!

Amen to meanie's post! I took nearly as much pleasure in Romber's loss as I did in Uchenna and Joyce's win. The look on Rob's face when U & J made that plane -- the constant drone of "we're gonna win," the utter everywhereness of the Romber these days. Would someone remind Rob that his record on reality t.v. is zero wins, three loses (and, no I don't count winning Amber as a win!).

Love the blog. So glad I found you.

My honest assessment of the final four:

Anthony -- an OK singer. Surprised he got this far, but most of the "final 12" were very weak. Only future is singing Christian music or being a lead singer in a "boy band."

Vonzell -- she has her moments, but she just doesn't have the pipes. I just don't see her making it to the final two and I don't think she has much of a career ahead of her. R&B "divas" is an already crowded field.

Bo -- I'm getting tired of Bo. As Simon said last night, his image is horrific. He will be able to make a decent living touring as an opening act for country rockers

Carrie -- I think she will win on her singing talent, which is clearly head and shoulders beyond anyone else who was in the competition, but I also don't think she's the next Kelly Clarkson. We've seen pop rocker Kelly and then two R&B singers (Rube & Fantasia), but I'm not sure how a country girl will fit into the "Idol" mold. Whether she becomes the Idol or not, she will be a country music success. She's as talented as any country singer today except Martina McBride.

Flash forward 10 years:

Carrie - attempting to revive her country pop career, poses in Playboy. "That's right, I said 'matress dancin'."

Vonzell - after becoming gospel/Christian/R&B music's first 'sex goddess', decides to take some time off to raise a family with husband Scott Savol.

Anthony - after a very brief and inconsquential pop career fizzled, made a transition to TV, and is now hosting a weekly musical infomercial on QVC.

Bo - after a brief solo career and a stint as the lead singer for 'Lynyrd Skynyrd/38 Special', now has a regular Las Vegas gig with killer backup band 'The Drive-By Truckers', which he credits to getting his hair cut.

Side note re. Constantine M.: after publiclly begging the surviving members of Queen to become the lead singer in their 2005-2006 World Tour (Which included a bizarre David Blaine-arranged publicity stunt where he sang "Bohemian Rhapsody" a capella naked in a phone booth, suspended by a crane over Wembley Stadium. "Let's see Paul Rodgers do THAT.", he said in a press conference afterward.), now works regularly in Broadway musicals as an understudy to Matthew Broderick.

bc

On those four: Never got with the program with Anthony -really surprised he's still in. I like Bo. Doesn't seem the 'Idol' stereotype, at least to me. Carrie has a good voice and will make records, 'Idol' or not. Vonzell, the protection of the studio will make her every note perfection even though she isn't. After tonight, I see Carrie, Bo and Vonzell through to next Wednesday.

I'm proud to say that I have never watched American Idol and couldn't care less about it. That is not to say, however, that I'm living in a vaccuum and oblivious to the news. That's why I plan to try out for the next season of the show: So I can have a shot at scoring with Paula.

I guess nobody here is a journalism hound. Joel's first sentence raises an important subject:

"This is the point of American Idol where you have to examine your prejudices, the subtle reasons you root against someone rather than merely for someone"

Any such capacity for reflection on the subterranean infrastructure of prejudice, advocacy, and condemnation, is worthy of examination.

But instead the Idle "Kill your TV"-quid-pro-colloquialisms suffocate the embers of understanding.

Class-warfare is dismissed.

The translucent gene pool of whiteness hovers at the heels of the weary like a truck stop spitoon.

Shouldn't they now erect statues of the Simpsons in every Springfield in America?

I realize this belongs in the comment thread under the Bewitched Statue in Salem item, but there isn't one. Nor is there one under the Bones Picked Clean by Vultures item. Hey, what's going on here?

I think there is something going on between carrie and Anthony. And i think they would make a great couple because they are both blonds and they would make beautiful blond babies and beautiful ballads together, just like Nick and Jessica.