Confessions of an AI Addict

Another week, another Idol gone.

Yep, I admit it, I'm an American Idol addict. I never saw a minute of the first season, then tuned in for Season Two just to watch the early bad/funny performances. But I fell in love with the likes of Ruben, Clay and Kimberly (Locke, that is, not Caldwell -- someone needs to tell Caldwell her 15 minutes of fame are waaaay up because she clearly missed the memo). And here I am, in Season Four, never missing an episode. At least TiVo allows me to cut out commercials and somehow convince myself AI doesn't control my time. Uh-huh.

Was bummed last week when Jessica was voted off. She has an incredible voice, and certainly had that come hither look down pat, but apparently Simon was right about her lack of "likability" -- ouch!

Another bummer this week with the departure of Nikko Smith. Didn't think he was anything special early in the competition, but he really grew on me over the past few weeks. His take on the challenging "musicals" genre made a very boring week a little more interesting. Sadly, he did not end his AI run with the Ozzie back flip everyone's been waiting for. Unless he did it after TiVo cut off (really gotta remember to add five minutes to the recording time!).

So apparently not enough viewers were turned off by Scott's domestic violence rap, and he lives 'The Impossible Dream' yet another week.

Meanwhile, we viewers have to live 'The Impossible Nightmare' with another week of Anthony Federov. How is it possible this guy hasn't even been in the bottom three the past two weeks? This concerns me. Is he going to be the next Josh Gracin, somehow holding on despite terrible performances that even he can't deny? I mean, Sergei even admitted tonight that he agreed with Simon that his performance was "hideous." And am I the only one who notices an odd similarity between Anthony and Abram from MTV's Road Rules (in looks only, needless to say for anyone who has no life and watches both shows)?

My hope is that next week's nursery rhyme theme (Constantine Maroulis does 'Rockabye Baby') sends Scott or Anthony packing. At this point, I think the only ones who are truly safe are Bo, Constantine and Carrie. But what do I know?

Song/Musician: The Vineyard Song, by Jackopierce
Featured Quote: Al Roker on the 'Today Show' called Johnny Damon (who was standing right beside him) "one sweet piece of man candy." I'm still trying to erase that moment from my memory.
Must-See Picture: View of the cliffs in Newport ... so much for those floods of biblical proportions. We wound up with blue skies.

Oh Wells!

After a looong night celebrating my best friend Rachel's 30th birthday in Newport, RI, I skipped lunch and hit the road for Maryland by 1pm in an attempt to make it home in time for the Sox-Yankees season opener. Today I wonder why I bothered.

I know, I know, the Red Sox finally won the World Series, I can die happy, I have nothing to complain about, now I can just enjoy the games, blah, blah, blah. I think Chad really believed that's how it was going to be, because he seemed surprised (which is a nice way of saying annoyed) when about five minutes into the game I was already cursing loudly.

The truth is, the World Series win doesn't make me any less pissed that:

* Hideki Matsui used his go-go-gadget arm (and a little help from Mother Nature) to rob my boy Kevin Millar of a home run early in the game

* Our No. 1 starter David Wells (those two phrases just should not go together for the 2005 Boston Red Sox) not only couldn't get out of the 5th but balked (!) just in case anyone was thinking he might be able to pull it together

* Nothing was going right for the Sox. Our 1-4 hitters were a combined 1-for-16. Our bullpen quickly took away any hope of a comeback. Our defense gave the Skankee fans something to jeer at. Just an all-around embarassing outing.

Thankfully, after the game ESPN showed "Red Sox: The Off Season" (or something like that) which brought me happily back to my warm-and-fuzzy Sox place. I remained there today, if only because the Sox had an off-day. See, I'm still the same old Sox fan.

Speaking of the Sox, check out Wally's European Vacation.

* Song: One Shining Moment
* Holy Crap Moment: I know I've had time to get used to it, and his comments on the way out should make it easier to take, but Pedro in a Mets uniform is just weird!
* Featured Quote: "He may be old, and he may be fat, but he has some good pitches." -- Chad on David Wells
* Must-See Picture: From Rach's 30th Birthday Night I think this picture accurately sums up the night.