...I watch American Idol. Yep. Admitted vice; and I know the first step to helping yourself is admitting you have a problem. Even after the admission, there may be some of you may want to tee-off on me right now because I slave myself out to viewing a solidly pop-culture show. Oh, well...get your TaylorMade driver and head over to my house or church. I am waiting.

But I do have to say this. I have watched the show for 3 seasons and it's beginning to get on my nerves. The only judge that gives any kind of "constructive" criticism is Simon Cowell. I can tell just by looking at the contestants, they are waiting for Simon's opinions. Any of you who will admit to watchng the show, know I am telling the truth. Simon can be brutal and he lacks some sensitivity but he is usually spot on. He's the one who can make them cry in pain or give them focus.

Paula Abdul comments mostly on the contests' clothing, hair and appearance. The other night she made a strange remark about her chihuahuas. It was weird. She tells them they are all stars. Really? How much can these teenagers and 20-somethings take this? They want to know how to possibly make a career in singing. Abdul gives them next to nothing. But the other night, she gave us plenty of her body.

Then there's Randy Jackson. I can sum up his comments with two words, "Pitchy" and "Dog!" How many times can you suffer being called, "dog"? Hey Randy! What's the deal with the hand gestures?

Given the number of people on the panel, 66% give out pure tripe and the remaining percentage represented by Simon often gives truth w/ near brutality. This is one scary trio.

Hey, dog! That's enough for now. Maybe I need to mine the depths of the judges panel (if you can mine anything from pop-culture) because there's some examples on how not to judge matters.