Hey the new judge is not the same as the old judge.

Hey the Professor is dissing the new judge Kara Dioguardi by saying she is no good and just parrots Randy or is too much like Paula. Well I think that is just silly. She is just starting out and has to be careful not to upset the rhythm that has been so successful for them. She seems to be pretty forthright and not a mindless cheer leader like Paula. She has her own opinion and is not afraid to tell them to their face that it is just not good enough.



I think the problem is with the format this year. They are making the eliminations too quickly. They have to squeeze the group down to three and some people who would have gone further are already eliminated. Like the shrieking maniac Tatiana, who was sent for the dead wife guy. They load the dice to get the ones they want and since they are only getting three, each one will represent a constituency. We can see that happening next week. For example the gay theater Cher boy has one spot and the cute black homeless girl has another. The roughneck oil rigger won this week so the welder has no shot at the burly working class hero slot. Everyone in the next group is angling for one spot.

The Idol is putting together this season the way they used to build the Democratic ticket in New York City in Tammany Hall days. Let's see, an Irishman for Mayor, a Jew to handle the money at comptroller, an Italian for City Council President. So we need the gay theater dude, homeless cute black girl, country working man, cute country singing girl with the sad story, black urban r&b guy, hippie blond chick, punk/janis joplin rocker girl, smooth soul singer guy, geeky guy who can somehow really sing and big black over sized belter to blast out the Aretha songs. That's how they build a good season.

And it is no different than any other entertainment. People crave the familiar. Ever since Homer got his first seeing eye goat and started scribbling about heroes and villains the entertainment industry always dealt in stereotypes and archetypes that are easy for the audience to read and identify with. Willy Shakespeare did the same, he had to grab the groundlings if he didn't want them to burn down the theater.

So you will have a very entertaining show with young kids trying to succeed and make it in the music industry. Much of America will be emotionally involved. Some people are too good to watch it. That's why the rest of us have to pay for public television so they can watch boring British sitcoms and period dramas where a bunch of limey broads walk around like they are having their period.

I say do what I do. Get a big plate of meatloaf and mashed cupcakes, a bottle of wine, the remote control and sit on your couch all wrapped up in a blanket with your honey and enjoy.