Steel Kaleidoscopes

Has American Idol Jumped the Shark?

Tuesday and Wednesday nights just aren't the same this year.

"American Idol," the pop culture phenomenon, is fizzling, sputtering and has lost its way.

Season 6 was doomed from the outset when Idol execs put an emphasis on sub-par talent and freak shows over true potential. Blame William Hung. Blame the stratospheric ratings. Blame the water cooler banter that focuses on the miserable singers rather than the rising stars.

The Sanjaya drama shifted the emphasis from singing to vaudeville. And while no one will argue that the "Idol Gives Back" concept is a terrific, generous gesture, it's not the reason I invest a few hours in "American Idol" each week.

I watch Idol to be entertained, not to cry.

"Idol Gives Back" is a worthy concept. Just keep it separate from the show. Do an hour lead-in but don't blend in people dying with the results.

Season 1 was unique, a brand new show with compelling content that introduced America to Kelly Clarkson. Season 2 gave us the Clay Aiken-Ruben Studdard competition (which Aiken should have won).

Season 3 was the battle of the divas and gave us Fantasia and Jennifer Hudson. Season 4 gave us Bo Bice and Carrie Underwood. And Season 5 launched Chris Daughtry's career, despite his fourth-place finish.

So what do we have in Season 6? Yeah, there are a few good singers, but with the possible exception of Melinda Doolittle, we've seen better.

Blake Lewis is no Chris Daughtry. Or Clay Aiken. Or Bo Bice for that matter. The male talent in Season 6 is the weakest in six seasons. And this was the sorriest Top 10 to date.  The Idol Summer Tour? You revved up to see Sanjaya and Hot Legs Haley Scarnato?

Something is just not right about Season 6.

Those sour notes we've been hearing are not just the wannabes on the Idol stage. It's Fonzie's motorboat rumbling.

The Eyes of Spiro Agnew

When did Haldeman know? What did Haldeman know?

And what about Ehrlichman?

And where were you in the summer of '72?

Quote of the Day

"You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. "

-- Christopher Robin to Pooh

Clarifications

Note to Gary Thorne: That was blood on Curt Schilling's sock. Don't be an idiot and don't be irresponsible.

Note to Alec Baldwin:  That was anger in your voice. Ditto.

And Your Bird Can Sing

You tell me that you've got everything you want
And your bird can sing
But you don't get me, you don't get me.

You say you've seen seven wonders and your bird is green
But you can't see me, you can't see me.

When your prized possessions start to wear you down
Look in my direction, I'll be round, I'll be round.

When your bird is broken will it bring you down
You may be awoken, I'll be round, I'll be round.

You tell me that you've heard every sound there is
And your bird can swing
But you can't hear me, you can't hear me.

-- John Lennon, 1966

American Idol: Songs That Inspire

Hard to criticize anyone given the spirit of the show, which essentially turned into a millennial generation, modern-day telethon. Here's the order of how the six finalists performed last night, with the odds of winning it all in May:

1. Melinda Doolittle
Didn't like the song choice as there was too much emphasis on the background singers. Gospel style is kind of played. Great job though, as usual, and she's the most improved appearance-wise. Still the one to beat.
Odds of winning: 2-1

2. Blake Lewis
Took a sacred song and kept it sacred. Kind of embraced a Kurt Cobain unplugged approach, singing in a straight line. Jennifer Hudson's version was more memorable. How he sings with no facial expression is amazing. He's unique.
Odds of winning: 5-1

3. LaKisha Jones (bye, bye)
It's a numbers game now and my sense is that the votes are going to Ms. Doolittle and Ms. Sparks. That's trouble for this talented diva, who broke out of the gate No. 1. Not a good idea to cover a former Idol. Great voice, but a little over the top.
Odds of winning: 25-1

4. Chris Richardson (bottom 3)
Drab, mundane with a typical boy-band run at the end. If I heard this music at a party, I would leave. It wasn't horrible, but it's just so damn typical. Mellow suits his style but this is clearly an acquired taste.
Odds of winning: 25-1

5. Phil Stacey (bottom 3)
Has anyone told Phil that Garth Brooks is irrelevant? Kind of campy, but he did a nice job.  Something about this, however, didn't seem genuine. Country is clearly his thing, but is it America's thing?
Odds of winning: 25-1

6. Jordin Sparks
C'mon, Randy, listen to this again. Thought this was a mess. She mumbled through the beginning and then was so over the top it was harsh. She was yelling, not singing, and it came across as shrill. Judges are pre-crowning her. She needs to earn it.
Odds of winning: 5-1

The Caboose

What happened to trains having a caboose?

A caboose visually served a purpose. It signified the end of the train. The caboose man would often wave in his grey flannel shirt and hat, signifying that he too was part of the Norman Rockwell era, deserving mention with baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet.

You just don't see the traditional caboose these days.  They were, by law, required on all freight trains until the '80s. Technological advances have eliminated the need for the caboose, which was a place where the caboose man would monitor the train's performance and detect shifting loads and broken or dragging equipment.

Now the last car could be anything. It could be silver, yellow, black or beige. It could be carrying piping, shingles or bulk vegetables. It's non-descript.

So much for the little red caboose.

It's history.

Fenway Magic

Photo collage by Jim Davis, Boston Globe

This is why baseball is the best of all sports.

What makes baseball so intriguing is that every game has the potential to reveal something you have never seen before.

It could be the unassisted triple play. A no-hitter. A perfect game. A 20-strikeout performance.

Last night at Fenway, it was four home runs in a row, in the same inning, off the same pitcher.

Within a 10-pitch span in the third inning, the Red Sox' Manny Ramirez, J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek hit home runs off Yankee pitcher Chase Wright. This has never happened before in the long, storied history of the Red Sox, and only the fifth time it's happened in baseball history.

And here's what made it truly special:

• It was a Red Sox-Yankees game, one of sport's fiercest rivalries.
• It was a nationally televised game.
• Because Daisuke Matsuzaka was pitching, there was a huge audience watching in Japan.
• Drew was one of the four players who homered the last time this happened, with the Dodgers last season.
• It was Red Sox manager Terry Francona's birthday.
• The last time this happened in the American League was 1963, and Francona's dad, Tito, was one of the four players who hit home runs for the Indians.
• The Red Sox were trailing 3-0 and the feat gave them a 4-3 advantage. Remind you of something that happened in 2004 against the Yankees?

Blogging Governance

Can bloggers really create a formal code of ethics?

Is it too late to bring civility to the Web?

The conversational free-for-all of the blogosphere can be a scary place at times. This is what has promoted a few high-profile figures in high-tech to propose a blogger code of conduct to clean up the quality of online discourse.

Earlier this month, Tim O’Reilly, a conference promoter and book publisher who is credited with coining the term Web 2.0, began working with Jimmy Wales, creator of the communal online encyclopedia Wikipedia, to create a set of guidelines to shape online discussion and debate.

The major recommendation is giving bloggers the ethical OK to ban anonymous comments left by visitors to their pages and to be able to delete threatening or libelous comments without facing cries of censorship.

Since the inception of blogs, it has been an unwritten rule that a true blog is a symmetrical two-way conversation. If the blogger doesn't appreciate a comment, he or she just can't remove it.

But what happens when people are downright nasty, leaving threatening or obscene messages?

O'Reilly and Wales are saying it's OK to delete it. Then again, who makes the decision on what is an acceptable or unacceptable comment? Should a blogger be his or her own gatekeeper?

Here are Wales' proposed guidelines.

Whatever Happened To...

Tammy Faye Bakker?

Well, now she's simply Tammy Faye, after divorcing convicted felon Jim Bakker in 1992.

Faye was a guest by phone on "Larry King Live"  in December and said she was receiving hospice care in her home. Her son,  Jay, revealed that his mother's weight was down to 68 pounds. Most recently, last month, she posted a letter on her web site that briefly discusses her current state.

In 2005, she appeared in an infomercial for controversial medicinal advice author Kevin Trudeau, an appearance she later admitted she regretted.

In 2004, she appeared on the reality show "The Surreal Life" with porn star Ron Jeremy, rapper Vanilla Ice and "CHIPs" actor Erik Estrada.

Faye, 65, is best known for being the wife of disgraced televangelist Bakker. Heavy mascara and false eyelashes were her trademark.