WOW!

Did NOT expect what happened last night on American Idol, as Constantine gets the boot and Scott not only survived, but actually didn't even wind up in the bottom 3. Paula was completely stunned by the result and Simon gave up props to Scott for surviving, but I think even he was stunned. There's no doubt that Constantine's performance was atrocious on Tuesday night, but he was far from the worst. Doesn't matter, though, as I think Constantine will go on to big-time success in the pop music world, likely outselling whoever winds up winning the thing. Same logic applies to Bo, as well, since I think he's just naturally talented and will use this experience as a way to simply get his name, face and talent out into the open. The others will definitely need help from AI to get records sold.

Finally watched this week's episode of 24 yesterday and I think it was the best episode of the year. Chloe looked SO badass holding a rifle at the end of the episode and I really have liked the evolution of her character this year. This was really her ep to shine and Mary-Lynn Rajskub really ran with it. Also, the whole handling of the weak President Logan is brilliant, as the writers did a smooth job of giving Palmer a reason to get involved. Having said that, I have some MAJOR issues with this season, including:

If memory serves, Palmer and Keeler were opposing each other in Season 3, implying they were from opposite parties. So this means Novick switched parties and then got the blessing of Logan to bring in a former President from the opposing party?

Erin's whole purpose was to create an opportunity to bring back Michelle. Why not just leave Michelle in charge of CTU LA? The romantic tension can still be there when Jack goes to Tony for help and brings him back to CTU (and that's another issue of convenience). Instead, Alberta Watson gets 8 hours of face time and gets saddled with the suicidal, schizophrenic daughter subplot that winds up leading to the character being written out. They could have just started the season with wrapping up last season (Jack going to bat for Tony in his treason case, Michelle moving up the ladder and leaving Palmer for later) without introducing new characters that I, and other loyal watchers, knew were merely placeholders until they executed the plot devices to bring the real main characters into the story.

What happened to SecDef Heller and Behrooz? Behrooz was swapped for Jack a few weeks ago and we haven't heard from him since. Heller left for a meeting a while back and hasn't been heard from since. We also have no resolution of issues with Heller's son. Once again, the writers have left a bundle of unresolved plot points which they should clean up in the final 5 weeks.

I know some folks are stating that this is the best season of 24 yet, but I think that stems from the fact that there are no breaks in the schedule and Fox is running the show weekly. I think Season 3 was the best end-to-end and Season 2 wins the award for most dramatic intensity.

On the baseball front, BAD day to be a pitcher or a Red Sox fan, as Curt Schilling and David Wells both go on the DL. Don't know how the Sox will fill in the holes in the rotation. Also, closers Armando Benitez (San Fran) and Jason Isringhausen (St. Louis) both went on the DL. I'm expecting a few messages in the ol' inbox at the CRBL League website.

Finally, got a new laptop at work. IBM ThinkPad T42 with a Pentium M processor running XP Pro. Boots up in seconds (unlike the old T20 with Windows NT, which needed nearly 10 minutes). Only problem....I can't access my stinkin' e-mail. Don't know what you got 'til it's gone.

Off to the dentist today. Looking real forward to it.

Later