Quote of the Day
The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him with his friendship.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Congratulations, American Idol 2011 Winner
Scotty McCreery!
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Photo Courtesy of Fox |
The tough thing about publishing predictions on a blog is that everyone knows when you are wrong. I predicted that Haley would pick up James Durbin's supporters and meet Scotty in the finale. I thought Casey and Haley might sing a reprise duet. I said the show had been teasing a duet between Aerosmith's lead singer/American Idol judge Steve Tyler and James Durbin. (I thought for a second it might happen when Tyler took the stage just before the winner announcement to sing his group's anthem, "Dream On".) In yesterday's post I wrote that I thought American Idol had stacked the deck by publicizing Lauren's voice problems earlier in the day, straining a vocal chord during rehearsals (thus attracting a sympathy vote), giving Lauren a sentimental song (a tribute to mothers) as the final (original song) selection, and the judges' clearly favoring her performances last night (except for 2 judges on the first song).
However, I found other bloggers, prior to the big reveal, whom correctly noted that Scotty had never been been in the bottom 3 voter group and (like me) observed Scotty's consistent performance.
I had not looked at Drudge Report over the 48 hours, but according to other sources citing Drudge predating the official announcement, Scotty reportedly won by a 2-1 margin. (Drudge simply references an unlinked source, information still developing.)
I hate hearing the predictable ideological feminist nonsense, complaining about the fourth straight male winner. Let me remind folks 4 of the first 6 American Idol winners were women, and 3 of those women beat male finalists (only Taylor Hicks beat Katharine McPhee). Moreover, until Haley was eliminated, 5 straight men were eliminated.
There were some interesting moments during the finale. The two moments that stand out for me was: (1) a skit between Casey Abrams and James Durbin over whose elimination was most shocking (frank admission here: I had predicted these two as the finalists even before the individual elimination rounds) when Pia, arguably the most talented female candidate (and the third genuinely shocking exit), joined them and asked them what they were talking about; (2) when Carrie Underwood, AI winner number 4, joined Lauren Alaina in a rousing version of Carrie's own classic "Before He Cheats".
In comparison to me, Scotty has a better voice, is well-liked and...is there any need to go further? His voice and tone are cookie-cutter perfect for country music, like Trace Adkins' little brother... With the right material, Scotty could become the highest-selling American Idol winning male vocalist. (Maybe I should write a tune for him...)
Big Nanny Must Be Stopped!
Government Of the People,
By the People,
For the People
Oprah Winfrey's Final Show: Mixed Review
When it came to talk shows growing up, I remember admiring Dick Cavett, not knowing his reputation as "the thinking man's talk show host". I have different interests than most people (in part, you see through samples of my writing or selection of stories or topics); I abhor ad hominem arguments, red meat politics and political spin. The major problems I've always had--even in my more liberal salad years--with Cavett, Donahue, et al., involved the part that they never seriously questioned the status quo liberal/progressive standpoint, political correctness, victimization, class warfare politics, etc. I hadn't read Cavett's recent blog posts in the NY Times, but you see his urbane, elitist dismissive attitude, say, towards General David Petraeus, complaining about the allegedly ostentatious display of medals. I'm more interested in the clash of ideas.
I think what I didn't like were the stunts done to attract ratings--I think when I saw Phil Donahue come out on his talk show wearing a dress, it just turned me off. (Milton Berle and Gorgeous George had nothing on Phil....) Oprah Winfrey did do things differently, although, granted, television shows having football players prepare chili today seem like the ultimate forgettable shows.
Oprah was different in the sense she vested emotionally with her audience, revealing stuff about herself (and getting the same from her audience or guests) in an intrinsic way that reflects, e.g., McLuhan's "the medium is the message" or the Hawthorne effect. There was one topic she addressed, however, that made me cringe: her references to child sexual abuse, including allegations involving close relatives. She regretted not doing more to raise consciousness about the topic (one source indicates that she covered the topic over 200 times in 25 years). I think I first realized my middle sister was watching too much Oprah when I once offered to take my oldest niece (then in middle school) to see the latest Disney animation film, and my sister said she would only let me take her if she accompanied my niece with me. There are a few perverted men and women out there whom sexually exploit children, these predators need to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and yes, parents need to be proactive and protect their children. But when a television host has viewers unjustifiably judging relatives based on her own abnormal experiences, I have issues with it: it's too close to her to be objective, and unwarranted fears can be corrosive to family or personal relationships.
Most of the hour seemed to address the obligatory "if it wasn't for you, there never would have been an Oprah show". She rattled off a lot of high-sounding rhetoric (like a typically bad Obama speech) that was overly abstract and addresses a predictable progressive's greatest hits on bringing consciousness to various social causes and victimized groups (e.g., gays/lesbians), etc. As a bachelor, I'm hardly representative of Oprah's target market; today's show wasn't my cup of tea, but I don't speak for other people.
Nevertheless, she is a self-made billionaire; she found a market niche, and her influence and success speak for themselves. She represents the fulfillment of the classic American dream. I don't know what the future holds for her; no doubt she could negotiate periodic network specials and lucrative speaking appearances, in addition to running her multimedia empire. I wish her success in her future endeavors.
Fukushima Nuclear Incident Update
The Hiroshima Syndrome blogger reviews additional information being made about the early days of the crisis, including time intervals between cooling system failures to explain differences in core damage among the 3 reactors. He's skeptical of claims about computer simulations predicting holes up to 4 inches wide in two reactors as a result of RPV conditions as a result of corium effects on several inches of containment. (He thinks piping cracks and other cooling loop failures as more likely sources of leaks.)
Killebrew Miscellany
"Killebrew can knock the ball out of any park," the old Orioles manager Paul Richards once explained. "Including Yellowstone."
Re: Killebrew was no 'Killer', except when it came to slugging
Dear Scott,
... I once met Killebrew in Vegas. He was selling autographs, with ALL proceeds going to a children-based charity.
Cool thing is, you could read his autograph. One of my favorite things is how the Twins' Michael Cuddyer and the Angels' Torii Hunter tell stories that, when they were young, they both scribbled autographs until corrected by Mr. Killebrew. "If you're going to take the time to write your name, write it so people know who you are," Killebrew schooled them. Pure class.
Political Humor
"It’s a great honor to be selected as the “Celebrity Apprentice.” It’s like being chosen as a Schwarzenegger maid." - David Letterman
[Well, David, I think Austrian immigrant Arnold Schwarzenegger never has quite understood American idioms like "you've made your bed, now you must lie in it"...
The Latina maid thought Arnold said he had a condom, and the movie actor thought she said she was on the pill. And anti-immigrant conservatives thought that somebody else had already called ICE.]
"President Obama visited a bar in Ireland and drank Guinness. I know it’s not great for kids to see the president drinking alcohol, but in his defense, beer goes great with cigarettes." - Craig Ferguson
[President Obama brought along Sgt. James Crowley and Professor Henry Louis Gates to exemplify how he would handle delicate diplomacy with Ireland's neighbor...
President Obama has been trying to forget some nightmares he's been having lately--they seem so lifelike... like he lost the House of Representatives last fall...the Conservatives gained power in Great Britain and cut spending...the Conservatives took power in Canada...last Sunday the Socialists in Spain got drubbed by conservatives in local elections... Come to think it, bartender--make it another and put it on America's tab...]
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
Chicago, "Another Rainy Day in NYC"
