Ear plugs may be necessary

My TV is fixing to be in for a workout. It’s that time a year that all my favorite shows start back up. It won’t be long before I’m screaming at Hell’s Kitchen, Big Brother 11 and Survivor again.

Last night was the beginning. American Idol premiered and I watched every second of it. I used to be a huge American Idol fan but over the last couple of years I’ve strayed a little.

I admit that in years past I was one of the people sending in the maximum number of texts allowed to vote. I was one of the people that spent hours on the phone hitting redial.

Last year all that changed. The show just didn’t hold my attention as much. The people weren’t as interesting or as talented as they had been in past shows. At least in my opinion.

Then a couple of days ago I saw an ad for this years American Idol. They have a new judge. A lady. Hmm, this might be interesting. She might be good…

She wasn’t. First of all they act like she’s someone famous but I’ve never heard of her. Her name is Kara DioGuardi and from what I could figure out, she’s a songwriter. I repeat: I’ve never heard of her. She actually felt the need to prove that she could sing better than one of the contestants and STOOD UP AND SANG. Well, I’m sorry. She sounded as bad as some of the wannabe stars.

The ‘improvements’ they’ve made aren’t that great to me either. They said they are going to show less of the Gong Show auditions for one thing. Well, again, I’m sorry, but the people making fools of themselves is one of the things I liked. It was an easy laugh. Remember William Hong? No? Well you can see him for yourself in the video I've included.

They also said they were going to show less Ryan Seacrest. I’m a little torn on that one. I like Ryan but I agree there is too much banter in the hallway taking away from why I’m watching. (In case you’ve forgotten that’s the people who think they can sing but just make me laugh.)

One girl (I can’t remember her name and have no desire to remember it) showed up in a bikini. Simon and Randy loved her of course. Paula and Kara acted like jealous teenagers. It was really quite boring. I could have done without it.

There was talent but they didn’t let us see much of it. There was Michael Sarver, the oilfield worker with a beautiful voice. And at the end they showed Scott McIntyre. I like him. He’s been almost completely blind since birth and he can sing.

All in all I was happy with the start of this years show and I’ll be tuning in tonight for another look. Maybe they’ll cooperate and show me what I want to see: fools and never-before-discovered superstars. We could get lucky.

Calling all beach bums!

What could be better than living on a beautiful beach, snorkeling along the reef and exploring an island anytime you got the urge? How about getting paid for it.

Sounds like a dream job to me. But it’s not a dream. It’s exactly what the Australian government is offering. $105,000 plus a rent free beach home to live on this beautiful island for six months. All that’s required to get this job is the ability to swim, be able to speak and write English and not be shy.

The person who gets the job will be expected to talk to the media, keep a blog and provide video and photo updates. Australia is trying to bring more tourism to the country, specifically to Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef.

I can imagine the scene all too easily which probably means I’d love this job. Just the wildlife alone would be worth it to me. Plus you get to live on an island! Now that feels too good to be true. I’m already very jealous of someone. I don’t know who will get the job, but whoever it is, I’m jealous!

If you’re interested in applying for this job you can click here, but I’m warning you A LOT of people are interested and therefore the site is so busy it’s very hard to get to it. I tried for over half an hour before it would finally go to the site.

If you do make it to the site there are links to all the relevant issues pertaining to this job. There is a full job description you can download and details on the responsibilities, criteria and benefits.

If I had nothing else to do I would definitely apply for this job. Six months would go by so fast. Especially on an island. I wonder if it’s a one time deal. Or if you can sign up for another six months after the first ones have past. I imagine that answer is in the FAQ section included on the site. I think I’ll go read them now and have a little daydream about living on the beach.

Note: Today's news revealed that because of the high volume of traffic to the application site it crashed. It took several hours to get the site back up and some portions are still unavailable.

Bad day on our highways

Everyday is a news day for me but today is a local news day. It seems like all the stories that caught my eye this morning were from in or around Houston. And most of them involved cars and speed.

A 22 year old man was reported to have been driving in excess of 100 mph when he crashed his Chevy Cobalt carrying himself and his 18 year old girlfriend into a van with five family members in it. All but the driver of the speeding Cobalt and a 59 year old female passenger in the van were killed in the accident. The driver that caused the accident is unaware that these deaths occurred yet. Killed in the accident were the 18 year old girlfriend, a 78 year old man who’s birthday is today, his brother and sister-in-law who were both 83 and his 60 year old nephew. The family members had traveled to celebrate the 78 year olds birthday.

In the second accident, a 17 year old stole a pickup truck and was spotted by police. He ran from the officers and subsequently crashed into a SUV in the intersection of South 79th and Elwood in Houston. The accident killed a 23 year old man that was driving the SUV. The 17 year old has no license and claimed to have ‘found’ the car.

A third accident occurred when a ladies vehicle was carjacked. Thankfully the carjacker allowed her to remove her children from the vehicle before he took off in it. The police chased him until he crashed into a gas meter. No one was hurt in this accident but a nearby restaurant had to be evacuated because of the leaking gas.

And finally, at a Low Rider car show one of the vehicles carrying a family involved in the celebration burst into flames. A three year old was in a car seat in the back of the car. The father managed to get his son out of the burning vehicle, but they both suffered burns and are being treated at the Medical Center.

I hate to drive. It’s a true story. I would rather be a passenger than a driver. Accidents like these make that feeling even stronger in me. Tim is an excellent driver and I would rather put my faith in him. Not that I’m a bad driver. I just get nervous and I know I shouldn’t be in control of a vehicle when I’m nervous.

I also know that accidents happen in a split second and sometimes even the most experienced and confident drivers are still involved in them. My heart goes out to the families of the victims in the accidents I’ve talked about this morning. I pray they find peace in whatever way they can. I know that’s easier said than done.