I got a little sick as soon as I began to imagine the inevitable Congressional debate over the wording of the oath.

In brightest day, in darkest night,
No terrorist shall escape my sight
Let those who worship al qaeda's might,
Beware my power... United State's light!

Nice voice, though his vocal range may be a little too limited. I'm trying not to mis-attribute any of the muddiness of the recording to his voice, but it does seem he can't or at least doesn't reach the tiny bit higher notes called for here and there. I say all of this casually, with no pretense of having any expertise.

Still, definitely, good enough to be on Idol. Was the video sent around as part of a means of garnering votes for some ongoing, online competition? Trying to collect funds to enable him to have the time to compete for Idol? Just to see if he could ascend to viral status?

It likely wouldn't get me to watch more than the clips that show up on The Soup, but that's another matter. Too much of what they're ultimately going for (youth-oriented pop) isn't music I'd listen to nor the type of acts I'd enjoy watching.

I suspect that would be near the high end of their efforts.

I don't know for sure what his goal is, he just E-Mailed me asking me to check him out. I comment on music videos a lot and I'm generally not mean spirited so he might have felt safe with me.

I noticed other comments saying he belonged on American Idol so I thought I'd give him some extra attention.

Personally, I don't watch American Idol unless it's on in the breakroom at work. I'm the kind of guy that would like to punch Simon Cowell's smarmy @$$ out.

A gray, windy, rainy Saturday in the process of rapidly slipping away. It's a petri dish for depression.

I need to choose one or two tasks to do and get to them so as to not leave the day feeling I utterly wasted it. There's an un-prioritized surfeit of things to choose from, which is much of the problem.

In a bizarre turnabout everyone else is out and working while I'm home with napping cats.

Our days sounds very much alike. The only difference; I'm home with a napping dog.

I'm stuck at work for another hour, with nothing really going on. Working on characters for my next Mafia game and generally very bored.

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of All Who Threaten The United States of America.

Ah! Understood. That makes sense. Good for you. The comment threads on so many YouTube pieces are unintentional pleas to the universe to snuff out the human race.
I know he's gone from the show, but set to return as lead judge in yet another U.S. version of a U.K. talent competition set to debut... next fall? Very peripheral info, as I don't care about any of it.

We used to watch the first couple weeks of Idol each season - the increasingly formulaic tour of cities for the first stage of competition - a heavy dosage of the power of self-delusion and the potential horrors of telling loved ones they're talented just because they're loved ones. Most of the enjoyment came from it being a shared experience. Now that it's just me it would be sad rather than at all entertaining, so I didn't give it a look this year. Several shows dropped that way from my list this past year.

The very sticker in the rear window of a car I was behind during part of our trip out to birthday dinner yesterday.

I don't quite think it's just loved ones telling them that they are good. We had a local kid who went into the auditions and this was the process. They hold open auditions where they bring everyone in front of a group that looks for 2 things, if you are good or if you are horrible and will make good TV. Then they pass those onto another set of auditions where they narrow that number down. Then there is a 3rd set of auditions with the actual Judges where they drag everyone in front of them. The problem, from not just his report but what I've seen of other accounts as well, is that the whole time, whether you are good or bad, they tell you you are awesome and pump you up. So the bad singers really believe they are good because they have been told that all along. I get why they do it, but it just seems cruel to do it.

I'm finally getting around to watching the new Pee Wee special. I was a little skeptical at first, but I'm enjoying it. Paul Reubens does look quite a bit older, but it doesn't really effect the show.

One of the cats kept trying to put me down for a nap, too, by climbing up into my arms while I sat at the keys.
May the character inspiration strike and the hour fly.

Oh, no doubt. We often speculated that it had to be much that way, as a vital part of the formula for those tryout episodes is having acts that the "bad guy" judge can lampoon and the others can go through various degrees of open discomfort over as they have to tell them this competition isn't for them. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the screeners are specifically looking down a checklist of characteristics, from goofy appearance to whether or not they seem likely to become angry.

Alternately, they're obviously on the lookout in each city for the best martyr-with-talent -- someone who takes care of one or more elderly/disabled/retarded relatives while holding down a full time job and working for World Peace.