Carry On my Wayward Son

Carry on, indeed. After a lackluster week in what critics have deemed the best season of American Idol yet, the American public has voted off four more contestants. I called two of them correctly, Jason Yaeger and Alexandrea Lushington, but the dismissal of Alaina Whittaker and Robbie Carrico is rather surprising. In a week when contestants missed notes, missed steps, and just missed the mark all together, I wouldn't have been surprised if the show's producers had decided to eliminate eight contestants instead of four in an attempt to save America some precious time and embarassment next week. That Luke Menard and Amanda Overmyer are still around proves that AI's viewers are just as tone deaf as Paula Abdul, since it seems as though only Dawson's Creek fans and those ready to ressurrect Janis Joplin would vote for these two.



The boys have a clear advantage over the girls, with 17 year-old David Archuletta far in front of everyone. Jason Castro has awesome potential, as does David Hernadez, gay stripper though he may be (see here ). Carly Smithson and Syesha Mercado are the only girls who seem to have both vocal and performance skills, but whether they can triumph over the purity of David Archuletta's voice remains to be seen.

At least all of the contestants this year share one thing in common: talent. After the distaster that was Sanjaya last season, I wasn't sure if I've ever watch Idol again. But despite average performances both weeks thus far, this season is already much better than seasons past. The addition of musical instruments adds a nice twist, and the lack of celebrity "help" reminds viewers that AI is indeed a vocal competition and not just another platform on which celebrities with forhtcoming albums can promote themselves (think last season's celebs: Barry Manilow, Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Lopez...).

Hopefully the themes of each week will improve along with the contestants themselves. If not, viewers may decide that they're the wayward son who needs to move on, and with the writer's strike at an end and new tv to return any time now, I can't say that I'd blame them.

Mr. Roboto

What is it with men and 80's fitness movies? My husband, who was home sick today, is watching The Karate Kid. I didn't think it was acceptable for anyone over the age of 15 to watch The Karate Kid. I've never even seen The Karate Kid. All I know about the movie is that its plot revolves around a puny little boy who's taught karate by some old Asian dude, probably named Mr. Roboto or something. I'm sure at the end the "Karate Kid" ends up beating up whomever was taunting him (thus the reason he had to learn karate) and winning the cute girl in the class. Movies clearly haven't changed much in the last 20 years. Although it could be worse...I'll probably wake up in the morning to Rambo.