Random Numbers

1) The odds of David Cook winning American Idol: -170. The odds of David Archuleta winning: +130. I don't understand those numbers, but apparently it makes David Archuleta the underdog. Regardless, in my opinion, he's going to win! He was great!

2) It is bizarre to have the weather go from hot to cold. I never seem to be dressed properly for the day. In the span of four days the high temperature went from 62º to 91º and today it's back down to 70º.

3) Online tracking shows that my graduate departmental application was delivered at 2:43 a.m. Who is delivering mail at 2:43 a.m., and who is receiving mail at 2:43 a.m.?

4) 20 days of school remain. But who's counting?

Why I Love American Idol

For a show that seven years ago was largely derided when it debuted as a desperate Fox attempt to flog ratings with a “Star Search” rip-off and mocked far and wide as an insult to the music world and the death of culture, "Idol" has become more than the savior of American culture (and record sales), with our biggest stars flocking to kiss the ring -- it has become American culture. Welcome to the Age of Idol. -- Richard Rushfield, Los Angeles Times

Click here for Idol Gives Back



You can tell who I like by the pictures I included. I even like the judges and the host. I like the whole shtick.

Last year TIME magazine had an article about why AI was such a hit. "Week after week, a society that is not terribly self-reflective asks itself, through Idol, what it likes and why." Now I consider myself a rather self-reflective person, often too much so. But I guess that the entertainment of the show itself, followed by the exercise of reflection, resulting in pressing the "Redial" button on my phone is just a huge part of my regular escapism.

I got hooked, and I will miss it when the season ends.