American Idol: Your Tuesday Roundup - Siobhan Made My Ears Cry in Pain

In a night filled with largely forgettable, sometimes awful, and even some weird performances, if there's any justice at all, and there often isn't, tonight's big loser was definitely Siobhan.

Also, for you kids playing along at home, the producers do seem to routinely put the worst singers first and the best last. Since they're able to listen to the rehearsals, this is not as odd as it may sound.

In any event, based solely upon last night's performance, this chica below has to go.

However, if we take in the totality of the performances and rate the aggregate, then Didi should get the boot. Seriously, she sucks.

But truth be told, we could throw another three or four into the cut pile and not break a sweat in the process. America is obviously out of suitable talent.

Sarah Palin's Crosshairs of Stupidity

Not content with the current wave of near hysteria from some people within the lunatic fringe of the right-wing nation of kooks, comes this tweet from Caribou Barbie regarding -- presumably -- the healthcare bill.

And if the message isn't clear enough, her personal political action committee put together this charming piece:

When -- not if -- the violence escalates beyond the brick-throwing, the harassing and threatening phone calls, e-mails and faxes, we ("we" being those non-kooks) will look back at this kind of imagery and know that the message and the messengers are guilty of fomenting an environment of hate, intolerance and violence.

This imbecile, this completely inept, abjectly ignorant, despicable, racist white trash from the frozen north is emblematic of our new culture of celebrity first, everything else last.

Just how despicable is Palin's conduct? So much so that even her ardent supporter, Elizabeth Hasselbeck, is disgusted by it.


And now, to add insult to injury, Palin will soon have a program on the Discovery Channel to burnish her image and fatten her coffers. WTF!? Seriously.

Musical Interlude: Death Cab for Cutie-Brothers On a Hotel Bed (Studio)

So many great tunes in the Death Cab for Cutie catalogue, but this one speaks to me today.

Musical Interlude: Priscilla Ahn "A Dream"

I Hate Ann Coulter And So Should You

Not just because she throws idiotic rhetorical bombs at anyone or anything that she might even imagine represents a threat to her circumscribed and racist worldview. And not just because I find her physically repulsive and imagine she smells like an old ashtray that has never been properly cleaned, and not just because her pinched face, hollowed eye sockets and endlessly obnoxious self-important tone are as pleasing as nails on a chalkboard.

And not just because she has championed the execrable senator Joe McCarthy or called the 9/11 widows "harpies" or said that Christians consider themselves "perfected Jews" and that it would be better if everyone was a Christian. And not because she characterized evolution as "bogus science" or that she has other views that are so blatantly racist and vile that I won't even repeat them here.

Facebook Stalker: The Best App

So, because things are quiet here over at the home office, I decided I'd try and look up some old friends on Facebook. But because Facebook's search app is slow, dumb, and doesn't allow intelligent queries -- at least that I could find, I used my noodle instead.

First, I used Google and got a small number of matches. From there I found some Facebook public groups where I found old classmates, and from there I Facebook stalked their friend's lists, and then drilled down playing a variation on the six degrees of separation theme. This had a cascading effect in that I was now finding people I wasn't actively looking for, and it also took me down some rabbit holes that I'm sorry I found.

American Idol Prediction: Say G'night, Paigey

In what has to have been one of the most awful performances in recent top 12 memory, Paige Miles blew her chances last night, and ended up sounding like me singing, and that, gentle readers, is incomprehensibly bad.

I know she was having some health issues that were affecting her vocals, but last night it seemed also to be affecting her hearing and taste.

Seems like a sweet girl, but unless Vote For the Worst can save her, this contestant is done.

Former Inmate Tries to Get Back Into Jail: Succeeds Brilliantly!

Meet 25-year-old ex-con Sylvester Jiles of Brevard County, Florida. Sylvester was first imprisoned on a manslaughter conviction but was recently released after accepting a plea deal.

Jiles had begged jail officials to take him back into custody, saying he feared retaliation from the victim's family.


Well, Jiles has 15 more years to contemplate his actions, as he was caught attempting to break back into jail.

Jail officials said they could not take him in and told him to file a police report. Jiles seems to have gotten his wish: the Florida man was sentenced to another 15 years in prison on Monday for violating his probation after being convicted of trespassing on jail property and resisting an officer.

[CBSNews]

Film: 147 toddlers infected in Uzbek HIV outbreak

MOSCOW (AP) - An AIDS outbreak at two children's hospitals in Uzbekistan has killed at least 14 children and left 133 infected with HIV, according to a documentary posted on a respected Central Asian news Web site on Monday.

The editor of Ferghana.ru said the 2007 outbreak was first reported in an official documentary produced by Uzbek prosecutors for government television.

Britain expels Israeli Diplomat Over Dubai Passport Row

The UK's long history of anti-Semitism just added another footnote. They are now expelling an Israeli diplomat over the use of 12 forged British passports by the killers of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai.

Mahmoud kidnapped and murdered two Israeli soldiers, but Britain has their knickers in a twist because they allege the Israeli government was responsible for the "misuse" of passports.

To them I say, Eff You!

Mabhoud was killed by electric shock. Ouch, bet that left a mark. Score one for the Mossad, none for the UK.

[Beeb]

Dancing with the Stars: Season 10 Premiere

I have no idea why I thought this might be an entertaining two hours, but I did, and boy was I wrong.

Truth be told, I watched only the first hour and then saw Kate Gosselin sashay near the end of the second hour. Her arm flapping could not disguise the fact that she can't dance, but neither could Shannon Doherty or Niecy Nash.

Ratings were reportedly very strong -- 19% better than last year's opening show, but the show was flat, the dancing mostly bad, and the "stars" all faded, insipid, clumsy or reality TV recyclables.

Best moment: When Bruno said something on the order of "You looked like you wanted to eat her" to one of the male dancers. Cut away to Tom Bergeron who simply looked down and probably prayed the director would cut to commercial.

Sarah Palin TV Deal Said to Be Done: Blame the Discovery Channel

The former governor's asking price was $1.2 million per episode. A network paying anywhere close to that figure would make "Alaska" one of the most expensive nature series ever produced.

[Live Feed]

File this under "the scum rises to the top."