Don't Get Me Started

This is 13-year-old Ashley Ferl from Riverside, California. I want to mention her, because she is the first person to officially fall off my Christmas list for 2007.

Actually, I really don't fault this kid for her overwrought reaction to Sanjaya Malakar in the studio audience of Tuesday night's American Idol. Frankly, she can't keep her emotions in perspective with regard to a television show and for that, I blame her parental unit. For Pete's sake, I didn't cry like that when Laura Avery Sumner died of a brain tumor on Knots Landing. Why not? Because I knew it was a freakin' television show!!!!!!!

So, as this "fingernail-scrape-on-the-blackboard" masquerading as a Michael Jackson-in-a-sari singer continues along on his merry tone-deaf way, there is tons of press about whether little Ashley's sobs influenced this week's vote on I-dol. I am saying "Hmmm, maybe."

Despite what Howard Stern is doing by encouraging his minions to "Vote for the Worst," I doubt he is playing a factor at all. Let's do the math. Sirius has about 7 million subscribers. Of that total, it has been widely estimated that one million of them specifically moved to Sirius because of him. Of that one million potential listeners, I am guessing that about half of them can't operate a phone dial. Compute in a few hundred thousand more who won't automatically urinate in public just because Howard says so, and you'll see that the Howard factor is a very small percentage of the 30 million plus calls/votes that come into I-dol every week.

But, yes, there is a teenage girl factor in the voting on I-dol. And, for some reason, this New Delhi version of Leif Garrett appears to be the incontinent puppy that pre-teen American girls love to lay newspapers for.

And there's more....if Fox is wringing its hands over Sanjaya every week and bemoaning the fact that he is turning their singing competition into a middle school class president election, they are doing so with Pico Boulevard-wide grins. Because they know that the public's fascination with this 17 year-old fender bender is making their big show even bigger. The longer he stays on, the more they can sell their V-Phones, Coca Cola, etc.. And also promote that Jeff Foxworthy acid spill.

Does Fox know what they are doing? You betcha. It seems that little Ashley was a contest winner and got to attend I-dol's dress rehearsal on Tuesday and immediately tapped the keg of tears. No cameras were rolling. When the show's producers saw this, they immediately gave her a Bob Uecker upgrade and moved her to the front row. And they were obviously poised to put the camera on her while Sanjaya was vocally pulling that splinter out of his foot, because the camera cut right to her. They knew exactly what they were getting. But, the longer the juggernaut of stupidity continues, they are going to regret more and more giving Ashley Ferl her Andy Warhol moment. Especially if it costs a phenomenal talent like Melinda Doolittle or Lakisha Jones a chance at a career.

And, I now am reminding myself..........IT'S A FREAKIN' TELEVISION SHOW!!!!!

Dinner last night: tortellini salad with chicken, pesto, kalamata olives, and sundried tomatoes.