Stupid human tricks

Most Saturday afternoons, there's a whole lot of "usual". Mowing the lawn, going to the park - all good, but still "usual".

This past Saturday though brought a quick detour into the strange and funny world of David Letterman's Stupid Human Tricks. You see, I have pretty much one skill in life, one thing that separates me from the rest. I can belt out a siren (police or fire engine, take your choice) that has been known to pull quite a few cars over and at the very least will either drive people crazy or have them laughing and yelling for more (especially at sports events).

On Thursday, a friend at work who as been trying to figure out a way to get me on Letterman shot me an email that they were having tryouts down at the convention center on Saturday. I fired off a quick description on the web form and before long, I got the reply to come on down for a shot!

The "tryout" was actually a little spot at the far edge of the San Jose Home and Garden show. I had thoughts of something a little more grand, or at least TV-like. But, it was really, really cheesy. There were 26 participants with a good number of the pet acts unable to live up to their owner's expectations. Here's a good description of the day, but unfortunately the reporter must have left before I went on (I was #22). Unfortunately, I was a complete goof and forgot to even bring a camera!

My own performance was quite a bit less than my best. Allergies have been kicking my butt the past few weeks and my wheezy lungs weren't quite up to the task. I belted the first one out, but it didn't have a very good sound. The host asked for another siren and I happily obliged; it had a much better sound, but it was not very long.

We'll see if I hear anything from them in the next few days; my own daughter gave me a 45% chance of getting a call back. Till then...

the lions haven't eaten this well since dunkleman

C'mon, I know you're watching too! The American Idol folks did an amazing job putting this "American Idol Gives Back" show together. Somehow, they were able to put all of those celebrities in heart-tugging situations without becoming too schmaltzy. We've been trying to donate online, but it seems their site is completely overloaded. So, in the meantime, we've donated to one of my favorite charities - World Vision.

The Simpsons bit was by far my favorite - hilarious! The line at the end - "the lions haven't eaten this well since Dunkelman" had us laughing out loud! I guess you have to be a long-time Idol watcher to get that one.

The music was fantastic. The duet with Elvis and Celine Dion was downright spooky, although really cool. And they've raised at least $30,000,000 to feed the hungry.

The money will do a lot of good; it will save lives, but it's not the answer.

While I'm pondering the answer, imagine if American Idol turned its resources towards autism. What would happen? Where would they focus the resources? Where should they?

Too much TV

OK, I admit it (that's the 1st step, right). I watch too much TV. On Monday, I can' t miss 24 and Prison Break (my favorite show) and there's also What About Brian. Tuesday, it's American Idol. Wednesday, it's American Idol (again), Lost, and I've just started watching Jericho. Thursday (ouch), it's American Idol, Survivor, CSI, and ER. There is always the smattering of Giants games, Sharks games, and during football season, all the Steeler games I can find.

With Tivo, it's a little too easy to catch up each night after putting the kids to bed. And while I admit to my shortcoming, tonight's shows will keep me coming back. Lost had its best episode in quite some time; the adventure, intrigue, inside humor, and suspense all came back tonight. Locke- what have you done? Again!? Hurley - who knew!?

As for American Idol, we sent off our 500 votes tonight, ~100 each for Gina, Lakisha, Melinda, Jordan, and Stephanie. Wow, the girls are so much better the guys. I would hope they'd change the rules and put 8 girls and 4 guys through to the final 12. Lakisha and Melinda are just amazing. Gina and Jordan have a ton of raw talent and it will be fun to watch them grow or fall during the season. In our house, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Chris Daughtry are at the top of our playlists, will there be an addition to that list this year?

Who's your favorite? Do you watch too much TV?