American Idol Still Sucks And Some More Facts To Prove It

Because my blog entry "Why American Idol Sucks" is one of my most viewed pages I decided to do just a little follow-up. Not that I care about the show or the people that watch it but just because I have too much free time today and ran across this article which is essentially saying that the show is no longer about being talented it is about being popular for whatever reason. Also, Vote For The Worst.com is claiming that it is behind the success of probably the worst performer on the show right now. Well, I doubt that the web site can take credit for some lack-luster singer continuing to do well on the show but rather I think it proves my theory that the people that watch the show are morons. According to the first article this sub standard performer "...has moved a 13 year-old girl to tears on national television..." and that matches my original description perfectly! I would like to mimic Stephen Colbert and release the balloons and strike the music as graphics of "I CALLED IT" flash on the screen because I CALLED IT!!!! In my original rant I pegged the demographic as being 13 year old girls and here you go, undisputed proof to show the mentality and the type of show that AI appeals too. 13 year old girls.

I also did want to mention that Vote For The Worst.com does also detail some interesting points about the show, primarily about the auditioning process and some of the editing tricks AI does. But anyone that believes everything they see on television, especially thinking 'reality television' is real, are probably AI fans and will, again, believe that AI is totally on the up-and-up. Once details of the show being rigged or at least fixed or predetermined surface, then my full prophecy of how lame the show and the people who believe in it will have came to full fruition. And by the way, I have yet to even view one second of this show and I have no plans to start watching it now.

Police Brutality, No TV For Miss America

A Chicago cop was caught on video tape beating a female bartender. If you haven't seen the video, it is here. And this is exactly what American society has become. And to try and show some 'justice' the Chicago PD initially charged the officer with a misdemeanor, the charged officer and others threatened the bartender in an attempt to keep her from testifying and the accused officer was given special treatment by fellow officers when arriving and leaving the courtroom. Who says there isn't two different justice systems? I know of NO COP that isn't an asshole. Police officers no longer uphold the oath "To Serve And Protect" they just want to beat someone and any opportunity they can they will. Then the whole fraternity of cops will all band together to protect each other regardless of how wrong their actions are. Trust no cop because they are just looking to kick your ass.

The first look at Grand Theft Auto IV was released today in the form of a video trailer, you can view it here. I've played all the GTA games since II and have enjoyed them. They are all similar in the fact that you are a lawless criminal but the game is unique in that it is probably the best 'free roam' type game. It also incorporates several different storylines a person could pursue, all of which usually reward you with some item that will assist you in doing more nefarious activities. I'm confident I will be checking this game out when I can.

Does anyone watch the Miss America pageant anymore? Apparently not because as of right now there is no television contract to air it and prior to this was aired on Country Music Television. I don't think I ever watched the entire pageant and I think I must have been 12 years-old the last time I even bothered to watch the swimsuit competition.

Star Wars Mail, April Fool's

Intel announced that they are on track to release their next generation of pc chips next year. I am still using the 'outdated' Pentium 4 chips and have been thinking about getting a dual or even the new quad core chips. With this news, I am thinking I should try and wait just a bit longer for the prices of all these pc's to really start dropping when the new chips hit the market. But of course a person could wait forever because a new chip is released about twice a year now-a-days.

I what I think will be pretty neat... the Postal Service is releasing Star Wars stamps and also putting out R2-D2 looking mailboxes. This of course is all to honor the 30th anniversary of the movie Star Wars.

April Fool's day is coming up and the Museum of Hoaxes has released it's ten best April Fool's day hoaxes. The older the hoax the more unlikely it seems that people would fall for the prank...but it is tough to say. Like putting a nylon over your black and white tv to get a color picture...doesn't even seem logical at any time.

The NFL has left the rules for overtime as is. It seemed as if there was a push to move the kickoff spot up 5 yards to somewhat hinder the receiving team - 66% of the time winners in overtime. I don't see a reason why any team should be handcuffed merely because the game has gone into overtime. As the article points out, the NFL has the perspective that the focus of a game should be to win it in regulation.

One cheater's honors will continue to be kept out of the public eye for now. A sculpture of Mark McGwire, which was commissioned in 1998. But with his subsequent all-but-admitting of using steroids and lack of making it into the hall of fame has kept the sculpture under wraps. I am happy to hear that people continue to realize that the accomplishments of the steroid players are not that impressive and don't deserve any recognition or continued accolades.

1k Of Wolfenstein

I just hit a gaming milestone. 1,000 hours logged on Xfire of playing Enemy Territory (ET), which is a free, multi-player game that followed the game Return To Castle Wolfenstein (RTCW). I know I have played more than a thousand hours because I have played ET for several years before getting Xfire - which tracks your hours of gaming - but it is official now... I have wasted over 40 days of playing Enemy Territory.

Although being free, Enemy Territory has had great support from the people who play the game. The game has several variations that a person can play and new maps are still being created by players. It was created several years ago so you don't need a 'super computer' to play the game.

For someone looking to try out a FPS (first person shooter) without having to spend a dime, ET is the way to go...

More Money For Big Oil, Replay Is Here To Stay

San Francisco, always a 'pc' type of town is banning plastic bags from their grocery stores. The United States was formed upon the concept of a free market and limited legislation to hinder the growth and prosperity of a business, aka the American Dream. You can see how far we have come from that original premise to today when our government now tells you what you can and can not offer as a means of transporting your goods from their shop. American governments are out of control with law happy politicians. I continue to say it won't be long before everyone in this country is criminal.

And this is such bullshit again, oil prices increase on the mere 'threat' of something. If nothing happens oil prices remain high. If something happens they go even higher. I'm am about tired of the big oil companies artificially inflating prices for any reason. I'm 99.9% positive that oil companies will report astronomical profits for this quarter as they have for the past 2 years.

The NFL has made replaying calls an 'official' rule and will remain a part of the game forever...or until the rule is changed. The system that has been in use in recent years seems to work well. Coaches can determine when they want to have a play reviewed. It will of course will be interesting to see how the NFL adds or subtracts the type of 'reviewable' items. The quick whistle still remains a problem, that is when a referee has blown the play dead and the ball may have clearly been loose.

And after getting the boot from Monday Night Football Joe Theismann has been offered to do college games with ESPN/ABC sports. In the article it seemed as if Theismann might be hesitant about taking the position because he is an NFL guy. Boy that sure would be sad if we have heard the last of Theismann's rants....NOT!

Frozen Four Teams, Anti-Sioux Bias, Thiesmann Axed From MNF

I've been pretty busy the past several days and my family has been ill so my posting was a bit light here recently...but I'm trying to get back into the swing of things...although a rather uninteresting few days...

It was announced that the Chargers will open the 2007-08 regular season against the NFC Champion Chicago Bears. I felt the Chargers could have beaten any NFC team last season and will have their chance to prove they are still an elite team if they can win against what will likely be a tough Bears team.

My NCAA bracket is all but shot... I had North Carolina winning it all and they are obviously done.

I did enjoy the west regional games in the NCAA Division 1 hockey championships. UND ended up beating - avenging an overtime loss the week prior - Minnesota in overtime. A very good game. UND beat Michigan on Saturday 8-5 with 12 of the goals being scored in the first period and a 1/2. Michigan scored 2 goals at the beginning of the first and second periods, both times taking the lead which forced UND to rally back. I haven't heard for sure, but I am fairly confident 12 goals being scored in the first 30 minutes of a playoff game has got to be a record. UND will play Boston College in the semifinals and Maine takes on Michigan State in the other semifinal.

I also wanted to comment on what I think continues to be a blatent anti-UND bias. It seems like every year there is something that seems just a little 'off' with the coverage of the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux hockey team. UND is a 7 time national champion but it you would never know it because they are often barely even mentioned in any coverage. Their first regional game against Michigan wasn't even carried live for most people but was taped delayed, similar to last year. Yet, on DirecTV I had 4 stations carrying the east regional games live. As many know UND and the NCAA are in a legal battle over the Fighting Sioux nickname used by UND. I think the NCAA has become very obtuse in it's blatant anti-UND scheduling and exposure because whether they win or lose this lawsuit they feel their decision is fair. But to any sane person it is tough to distinguish the logic the NCAA displays in allowing some Native American monikers and not allowing others. I am fairly confident that the NCAA and ESPN2 - which will actually cover and mention college hockey for the only time this year and won't again until their coverage again next year - cringe at the thought of seeing UND in the championship game.

And is ESPN actually getting a clue? Joe Thiesmann, quite possibly the most annoying color guy in football...although Dan Dierdorf and Randy Cross are right up there too... is out and Ron Jaworski is in. I thought Joe came off as if he felt he was 'superior' to anyone else in the booth and regardless if he was right or wrong would rant endlessly about meaningless items throughout the game almost begging to be differed with. Get rid of Kolber and maybe the production becomes tolerable again...

Pure Rock Fury Video - Clutch

Another video by Clutch... Pure Rock Fury... As long as we don't tell anyone I can continue to post kick ass music videos!

Pure Rock Fury
Uploaded by SayOw

Frozen Four Set, Don't Look Down

Early indicators have some speculating on the fate of the PS3. Here's little tip for Sony as to why this latest Playstation game isn't flying off the shelfs, it's because it costs more than 500 freakin' dollars. I'm sorry, but I don't think everyone in America is chomping at the bit to spend 500 dollars on a game machine. Would I love to have a Playstation 3? Absolutely. Will I pay $600 to get one? Absolutely not. Let me know when they are below $200 and I may start to browse for one.

The NCAA Division I hockey tournament is set to start this weekend. You can get your printable bracket here (need Acrobat to view). UND will open the tournament against Michigan on Saturday in the west regional. UND was put in the same region as Minnesota which means only one will advance to the semi-finals. Minnesota won the WCHA tournament on an overtime goal. UND will be ready for the revenge game but best not look past Michigan. Notre Dame is the #1 team in the country? Yeah right. And St. Cloud is the only WCHA team in the tournament, best conference in collegiate hockey (imo).

And if you've listened or flipped by any news program you've seen this...the glass bottomed skywalk over the Grand Canyon. No matter how 'safe' the engineers describe this skywalk, I'm sure it would still seem eerie. Any bets on when the skywalk has its first jumper? I'm taking before Labor Day.

Iraq Anniversary

Yesterday was the 4th anniversary of the Iraq war and to celebrate they hung Saddam's former vice president. Bush will obviously try and get Iraq to look as 'rosy' as he possibly can for it will obviously be a part of his legacy. In my mind Bush' legacy has been the removal of civil liberties and the blatant trampling of our constitutional rights.

North Korea has refused to join in nuclear talks until it gets $25 million from a blacklisted bank. Boy, there's a shocker. I am going to merely cut and paste my comments from the past couple of months regarding this topic: You are a moron if you believe anything North Korea says. The reason they have nuclear weapons now is because they covertly developed them using funding and resources given to them to prevent them from building nuclear weapons in the first place. They will say anything to get America to give them what they really want. The UN will cave, give them their money, North Korea will then 'join' the talks only to leave them later for some other demand as they continue to develop their nuclear program.

Judges smoking pot. I forget why is it so bad?

Electric Worry Video - Clutch

Electric Worry
Uploaded by SayOw

For maximum pleasure, right-click the video and goto full-screen mode.

Watch NCAA Basketball On The Internet

In my previous post I posted the video feeds for the NCAA Basketball Tournament. The NCAA/CBS feed, at tip off of the first game, is backed up tremendously and doesn't appear to be functioning properly for me at this time. Using TVU from TVU Networks looks to be working just fine. It is streaming nice for me but of course you are subject to whatever game they are broadcasting but that is better than nothing...not?

Let The Madness Begin

Today is day 1 of the NCAA Basketball tournament and there's my NCAA Bracket for this year. I pay close to zero attention to college basketball during the year. I usually don't try and guess what upsets are going to happen and like the Pac-10. I usually don't put too much faith in the Big Ten and am just waiting for Ohio State to choke early this year. I also don't like picking #1 seeds to win it all because it seems like they rarely do...but that's what happened this year so we'll see how things pan out for me.

And for those of you wanting to watch the games on the internet, here's the link to do so. I am also going to try using the TVU from TVU Networks which broadcasts CBS over the internet. Of course this could be blacked out due to the tournament but if not, would be a good place to go if the first link doesn't work.

There is no question that the NCAA Basketball tournament is in the spotlight for the next few weeks but I will be following the NCAA Division I Hockey tournament as well. Tomorrow the conference tournaments begin and I, of course, will be following the WCHA tournament happening in St. Paul. Go Sioux!

Something everyone knew, binge drinking in college continues to be a big problem for those that drink. It's kind of one of those 'skewed' surveys where it's prefaced by "...less students are drinking in college but those that are are taking it to new levels." It's easy to see why because today's youth are dumb. They think it is a badge of honor to drink 21 shots in an hour...I think it is just stupid. Not sure where the kids get these great ideas about partying all the time but it may be from their school's administrators. That's right a husband/wife were caught having a party at their lake cabin where they charged each underage kid $5 to drink...that's a bargain when you are a minor and I'm sure the party was a huge hit.

New Charger Uniforms Officially Unvieled

The Chargers officially unveiled their new uniforms with great 'web fanfare'. Head over to Chargers.com to get the full story, more pictures and information. My overall initial impression is that these aren't bad at all. We'll see how they look on the field.

New Charger Uniforms Out Today, Firefox 3, New Clutch

I was off for a few days recovering from a 'basketball bender', working 22 games in 3 days. So I had a couple days off to unwind...and Sunday night I went out and had more than my share of drinks. But anyways back at it...

Later today the Chargers will unveil their new uniforms and it sounds like their is quite the 'buzz' about them. I'll try and get the new photos of them up as soon as I can.

The latest roid bust is really getting more and more interesting every day. The DA conducting the case has said they will release the names involved in purchasing illegal steroids to each of their respective leagues. It will then be interesting to see how each league responds to that information. And a sidenote to the story is that Gary Matthews Jr., whose name was mentioned when the bust originally occurred has come out to say that he never took HGH. Ok, you didn't take HGH but what illegal steroid did you take then? Notice how he said he did not take anything with regard to HGH but didn't use a 'blanket' type statement like he never took steroids. He is merely coming out and saying he didn't take HGH, not that he didn't take any steroids at all.

Sounds like Firefox 3 beta is due out in a few months - my favorite browser. Where as IE 7 apparently has some security issues (among other things). Not sure why anyone uses Internet Explorer anymore.

The Who played one song and had to postpone their show because Daltry has bronchitis. When you get old it gets tougher to rock out every night.

I've been fortunate enough to listen to the new Clutch album, "From Beale Street To Oblivion", and it is real good. Power Player and Electric Worry are 2 songs that are really catchy right off the bat.

New Charger Uniforms

There she be, the first images of the new Charger uniform. And word is...

"Chief among the changes is a redesigned gold bolt outlined in powder blue, white helmets and a newly contoured overall look.

The powder blue framing the bolts on the helmets and the jersey is the only addition of that popular color, which many fans have opined should be the team's primary color. The Chargers will continue to wear their powder blue uniforms twice each season."

At first glance I think they look alright, but I think getting rid of the white 'square' beneath the lightning bolt on the shoulders. It would make it more subtle (and probably not TV friendly and that is why the white square was added in the first place) but more cool in my opinion...but again, this is all first impressions.

New Charger Logo/Uniforms

With success means a team needs to change their uniform and logo. The Chargers are doing just that. Hopefully they don't suck so I can buy one.

Time Change Party, March Madness On The Net

The RIAA has to be ranked right up there with the NCAA for a totally retarded organization. The RIAA is now going after probably there #1 demographic of people that purchase music (as well as steal it off the internet). The record industry is the only 'media' related industry that continues to actively and publicly try and pursue infringement. Instead of tying all that money into policing, lawyers and pursuit of offenders they could be investing that money into legal technologies and they would be making plenty of money where pursuit of piracy is a non-issue. Honest people will be honest.

Daylight savings starts this weekend. I've heard 1,000 reasons for and against daylight savings and I really don't care. I have always been championing my own cause the 'Time Change Party'. Yes, the only holiday that happens twice a year. It is not a religious or memorial-type holiday it is merely a twice yearly event that gives a person to go out and party. When I was single and living with 2 other guys we began the 'Time Change Party' and held the tradition for quite a while. I recall every Time Change Party being a huge success.

As a Denver Bronco hater, I like the move to get Patrick Ramsey. Ramsey reminds me a lot of Jake Plummer....crappy and that is what the Broncos need.

A friend of mine was telling me about CBS.Sportsline.com allows people to watch any of the NCAA BB Tournament games on the internet for free and sure enough they do! He did say that last year there was often times a wait and it appears as if CBS is trying to beef up the bandwidth but I would have to think the popularity of this feature is going to be tremendous, especially the first weekend.

Springfield's around America are competing for the honor of being the home of the Simpson's movie debut. Again, probably the first movie in a long time that I will actually probably go to the theatre to watch...but pay $9??? That's highway robbery...but alright, I'll do it.

Tiger's Tourney, PS3 Going 3D

Macolm Floyd re-signs with the Chargers. Floyd is a young receiver that was beginning to break out last year until he got hurt towards the end of the season. A tall, fast, good catching receiver - all the ingredients you look for in a receiver.

Looks like the dems. are sending a clear message to Bush that we will be out of Iraq sooner than later. Now let's see if they hold to that...I'm guessing no right off the bat because they are politicians.

Tiger Woods is already a golf icon and now is hosting his own PGA tournament. The PGA is trying to figure out ways to get Tiger play more PGA events, this might be it.

Blues Traveler front man got into a bit of trouble this week. Going 111 mph in a SUV that is outfitted to look like an emergency vehicle with pot and guns. Why wouldn't you be speeding?

The Playstation 3 sounds like it is only getting better. For the price you pay, it better do more than just play kickass games!

When CBS hired Katie Couric that was going to propel their nightly news to the top of the ratings. Well it hasn't and obviously can not be Katie's fault so someone has to get fired.

Good Bye Blog Feeds

Had some time today - before a busy weekend starts for me - to do some Blog-upkeep/upgrade. Frequent visitors of this blog may notice that the blog feeds have been removed and replaced with several boxes with links. The boxes are labeled with a topic and will contain the stories from the various blogs and news sources. Previously, I would list feeds from several sites and they would often list a feed from another site which was a feed from another site and so on. So to eliminate redundancy and out-dated information I am able to go right to the source and have a variety of feeds supplying the information for the topic.

In addition and essentially what prompted this change was that I have now started using Google Reader to view and sift through the news and that addon is a feature from doing so, so we'll try it out! I know will also be able to list some of the items that catch my eye but I really don't have to comment on each item.

Captain America Dies, NFL Moves

Can this be true? Captain America is dead? Apparently so. He always seemed to be treated as 'lower-tier' super-hero, but he was a super-hero none-the-less. What is the world going to come to without Captain America?

Lots more names popping up after the latest steroid bust. John Rocker highlights the list and apparently also admits to using HGH. Looks like getting away with using steroids is easy, it is the selling/distributing part that is tough. Users aren't getting caught, the people selling them the stuff are.

In my ongoing crusade to point out how crappy Apple and it's products are...their iTunes interface doesn't work properly with Windows Vista. What is stupid about the iTunes interface itself is that it always has to 'sync' with your iPod. How lame is that? Buy a good mp3/video player, plug it into your usb port and copy/paste your media to your device...that's how simple every other portable player is except for the iPod...so why is it better?

Free agency and trading in the NFL is in full swing. The Dolphins sign Joey Porter - the Dolphins have traditionally been a good defensive team and adding Porter at linebacker will only solidify that defense. But are they focusing too much on defense and not enough on offense? The Jets get Thomas Jones from the Bears. With Curtis Martin all but used up the Jets have lacked a consistent runner. Thomas Jones seemed to run real good for the Bears and then the Bears would sit him and put in Cedric Benson, obviously wanting Benson to be the future feature back for the Bears. Also in Bears news, Lance Briggs has asked to be traded from Chicago and the Chicago management has said that they will not trade him. Things not looking too sunny for the Bears at the moment. The Broncos have signed tight end Daniel Graham. I don't like the Broncos making any positive moves...this looks like it could be one. I'm sure lots more trades and acquisitions before the season kicks off.

Winter Blues,

What's up with all the hate and murders? And not just your plain-jane plots. You got this dude in Michigan who chopped up his wife...just sick. You got this psycho that tries a 9-11 reenactment and crashes his plane into his ex-in-law's house. And then you got this nut-job telling his 2-year old son to stab mommy. I also know of 3 suicides, all men, that recently occurred within my circle of acquaintances. Winter blues striking again....

In no surprise here, Ron Artest gets arrested for domestic assault.

The Wimbeldon warm-up tournament will be using replay technology to settle any disputes. I have long said that I think tennis could be the first sport to have a referee-less event and the spectator and fans would appreciate that fact.

China is doing what it can to prevent internet addiction. They'll have to learn the same way as everyone, the more you try to ban something to more desirable it becomes.

Colbert Gets Honored, Remembering Belushi

Slow news day...at least for my interests...

They finally buried Anna Nicole Smith. The funeral sounded like it was more like a circus than anything else.

Stocks look like they will be dropping some more.

Beckham gets injured and will miss at least 2 months. I care so little about soccer but the man who will make it popular in America (yes, that is sarcasm), is currently injured. It would be a damn shame if he is unable to play and/or becomes just a permanent fixture on a IR report.

One of the key players for the Chargers beating the Broncos is retiring. Yes it sucks going into next year knowing that the Broncos don't have a crappy QB. Cutler is still an unknown and can still be crappy but with Plummer, we knew he was bad. Plummer pusses out and retires rather than get traded. 1-13 career playoff record, very Marty-esque.

Stephen Colbert was named "Person Of The Year" by the U.S. Comedy & Arts Festival. I think I have watched every Colbert Report since its been on the air and every episode makes me laugh. I wonder if Stephen is going to mention this on his show? The answer: of course he is!

It's the 25th anniversary of John Belushi's death. Incidentally, while working a college basketball game this past weekend I pulled out the line: "Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?" and the college-aged girl that I was working with was quick to retort "The Germans didn't bomb Pearl Harbor." It is a sad state of affairs when college students don't even know an Animal House reference when they hear one.

Deilman Signs With Chargers

Good news from Chargerland, Kris Dielman will resign with the Chargers. Deilman is credited with much of the 'attitude' the Charger offensive line has and was all but written off to go to another team. But this morning it was announced he will resign with the Chargers for 6 years. Him and McNeill make an excellent tandem on the left side of the Chargers line. I think Tomlinson is glad to hear this news as much as anyone.

ESPN Sensationalizing? Never...

I just had to quickly make a note of this... as I was working today and had the television on I happened to catch the promo for the 6PM EST Sportscenter and not that I was really paying attention, but when I heard "The Broncos acquire Dre Bly, will that turn the tide in the AFC West?" Yes folks, the Broncos have got another cornerback and that should just about lock up the AFC West for them... give me a break.

Plenty O' Snow,

Up until now this region has gotten about a total of 12 inches of snow maybe 18 at the most. Last night it snowed a good 6 inches and it is still snowing. Predictions are up to a foot by tomorrow. It's not cold so it isn't that bad...as long as my snow blower doesn't break down!

I'm already tired of following the stock market. Isn't this all just cyclical?

North Korea says they will 'denuclearize' in talks. I'll take that bet.

John McCain is running for president again. I doubt I will vote for any non-libertarian but I do have respect for McCain.

Just yesterday I noted that there was a steroid bust and that Evander Holyfield was making a comeback, not thinking the stories would be related but yet they are... Holyfield allegedly is involved with the latest steroid bust. Well so much for respecting him anymore...

The Chargers don't look to make too many free agent moves during the offseason and they really shouldn't need too. They will likely lose Kris Dielman to free agency but they did strengthen their position on Tomlison's backup, Michael Turner. All seem like logical moves at this point but it doesn't erase the fact that Norv Turner is the head coach.