Entertainment

Heard this on the radio on the way into work and it seemed very apropos…

I know the pieces fit cause I watched them fall away
Mildewed and smoldering, fundamental differing,
Pure intention juxtaposed will set two lovers souls in motion
Disintegrating as it goes testing our communication
The light that fueled our fire then has burned a hole between us so
We cannot see to reach an end crippling our communication.

I know the pieces fit cause I watched them tumble down
No fault, none to blame it doesn’t mean I don’t desire to
Point the finger, blame the other, watch the temple topple over
To bring the pieces back together, rediscover communication

The poetry that comes from the squaring off between,
And the circling is worth it
Finding beauty in the dissonance

There was a time that the pieces fit, but I watched them fall away
Mildewed and smoldering, strangled by our coveting
I’ve done the math enough to know the dangers of our second guessing
Doomed to crumble unless we grow, and strengthen our communication

Cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion

-Tool from the song “Schism”

I make no excuses, I love American Idol. I have since it first came on the scene 8 years ago. It’s something I really enjoy and can watch with my children and talk about with anyone. I think it comes from the old performer in me. I tend to put myself in the contestants positions and enjoy living vicariously through them. I also tend to be thinking exactly what Simon is thinking, so his analysis is generally my sarcastic bad side with a British accent.

Anyway, this season, as I watched, I caught glimpses of this goth guy during Hollywood week who was unbelievable. We didn’t really see much about him early on. They focused on other contestants, but after hearing him a couple of times I predicted he would win. He was that good.

Once we started moving through the weeks, it was evident that this guy, Adam Lambert, was head and shoulders better than his competition. His vocals were always amazing, he had a killer stage presence, a glam look, and could hit notes that no one else on the show could even dream of. Oh, and pictures surfaced of him kissing guys. So he was either gay or bi-sexual. *GASP*

One of the other favorites early on was Danny Gokey. Danny is a widower (something we were reminded of approximately five billion times) and could wail pretty well. He was also very religious, and was a music director for a church and had recorded some gospel music. He got a huge following, and for quite some time, everyone expected a Danny Gokey / Adam Lambert finale.

During this battle, a nice unassuming guy by the name of Kris Allen quietly put in great performance after great performance. He turned songs like ‘She Works Hard for the Money,’ ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ and even Kanye West’s ‘Heartless’ into awesome acoustic/adult-alternative tracks. He could play guitar and piano, and on some tracks he did so without any help from the Idol band. Creatively he matched Adam Lambert and blew Danny Gokey out of the water. To me, he very much reminded me of Jason Mraz, one of my current faves. And in kind of an upset, he beat out Danny Gokey for the finals.

So now we had two genuinely nice guys, Adam and Kris, both very creative with arrangements and such with Adam having the better vocal ability, and Kris having the ability to play musical instruments. But Adam, vocally was still phenomenal and Kris could sometimes falter and not be able to push through soaring choruses. Adam also worked a stage like he owned the place, and Kris seemed kind of shell shocked at times to be there.

So to me, the American Idol victory should still go to Adam. He’s the better singer and showman, and has been far more consistent all year long than Kris. But I think Kris will win. And the reason is simple. The Danny Gokey voting juggernaut, many of whom are deeply religious, will never vote for a gay man. So many of this huge voting contingent will go Kris Allen’s way, and I think that will sway the victory for him.

If Adam actually wins, I will have a lot of faith in our country to have voted for the openly gay guy. But right now, I don’t have that faith. Kris, although he’s very good and deserves to be in the finale, wouldn’t have quite the votes to win this, but I fear bigotry will push him over the edge.

I hope America proves me wrong.

Now make no mistake, both will get good recording contracts so it really doesn’t matter that much in the grand scheme of things. And quite frankly I love both Kris and Adam and look forward to buying both of their albums. I just think that based on talent, most everyone agrees that Adam is the best. It would be a shame for him to lose simply because of his sexual orientation.

I’ve been a lifelong Miami Dolphin football fan, and I’ve stuck with them through thick and thin. Last year’s 1-15 season was brutal, yet I still listened to every game on Sirius satellite radio. So to see the Phins turn things around, go 11-5 and win the AFC East this year has been wonderful. We just lost in the first round of the playoffs yesterday to the Baltimore Ravens who pretty much had their way with us. In the old days (pre-Jimmy Johnson and the subsequent years of suckitude) it would have ruined my whole week.

But not this time.

I’m very proud of the team and the turnaround they accomplished. It was their first trip to the playoffs in seven years, they won ten more games than last year, and they knocked the Jets and the Patriots out of the playoff picture. So in all, it was a pretty sweet year to be a Dolphin fan. I look forward to the continued Parcells/Sparano era!