Obligatory American Idol Post

Apparently the dude with the grey hair won American Idol last night. For two very different takes on the Idol phenomenon, read this piece in Slate that discusses how the show has improved over the years, and then check out this cynical piece in the NY Times that once again proves that any mainstream culture must be too lowbrow for the Times. I have to agree with the Slate article: American Idol isn't near as annoying as it used to be, musically, and it's found a niche where I can mostly ignore it while it remains popular. And the world awaits the next hometown hero Theresa Sokyrka.