The First American Idol Recap of 2010

I'm in training for weekly recaps once the annual American Idol pool commences in a couple of weeks.

I watched most of the Top 12 Women perform tonight. With only a couple of exceptions the judges ddn't say whether they could sing well or not, but instead questioned whether they were unique, authentic, real or original.

Randy questioning someone else if they're original enough is like Charlie Sheen demanding someone else prove they're sober. Randy hasn't had an original thought or statement since the hospital nursery. Seriously, let's just record bites from the last show and plug them into a Chatty Cathy doll. Then everytime a contestant finishes singing, the judge sitting next to the doll pulls a string and Randy's voice will spew out.

I'm not overly impressed with the Top 12 women. There's a female Jason Castro and a Brooke White look and sound alike. Oh, you've forgotten Brooke White? Yeah, so has pretty much everyone else.

I have a soft spot for Katie. She's from the small place in Connecticut where my aunt, uncle and cousins live. I need to check with my cousin and see if any of her kids are in school with this kid.

Lilly Scott reminds me of Ricki Lee Jones mixed with Cyndi Lauper

If I had to pick six of them tonight to make the top 12, I guess I'd have to go with Michelle Delamor, Katie Stevens, Lilly Scott, Siobhan what's her name, and Didi BrookeWhite.

Tomorrow night with the guys will already have one major improvement. The guys won't make cutie-pie, giggly faces when Ryan gives out their phone numbers.

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Passages - Dick Francis

The mystery section of the bookstore in the Great Beyond is getting a little crowded. I read today that author Dick Francis passed away at the age of 89.

Writing was his second career. He published his first book after retiring from a successful, active career as a steeplechase jockey in England. Francis was a pretty good rider, to say the least, even riding for Queen Elizabeth II's mother in the Grand National Steeplechase. Authoring books presented less physical danger, but probably also less excitement.

Most of his mysteries were set around horses and racing. Sometimes characters showed up in more than one book, but most were stand alone stories with everyday folks solving mysteries that somehow showed up in their lives. Some of the leads were in more thrilling lines of work. My first ever Francis remains my favorite -- The Danger in which the male lead is a kidnapping expert for Lloyds of London.

His books weren't taut, action packed, high-tech thrillers, but they were no less compelling entertainment. You cared about his characters and rooted for them to win their battles, to cross their personal finish lines.

Mr. Francis leaves behind quite a legacy of work -- 42 books, including some written in his later years one of his son's, Felix.

Rest in peace, Dick Francis. Thanks for the ride.

Oh! Canada!

Ten reasons why I loved watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics:

10: The parade of athletes, excited, joyful, waving flags and recording the festivities on their small camcorders. I particularly love watching small countries like Albania who only have one athlete participating -- but he or she is as proud as a country with 50 athletes. (Go, U.S.A.)

9: A stadium looking like a night sky filled with stars and constellations shooting fire from the sky.

8: Orcas swimming in the floor

7: Tattooed fiddlers going to town

6: A young man dancing in the air to Both Sides Now

5: Skiers, snowboarders, and a mountain rising from the floor.

4: K.D. Lang singing Hallelujah

3: Operatic brilliance stirring my soul with the Olympic hymn, even though I have no idea what lyrics she actually sang.

2: Watching famous Canadian actors, singers, and athletes carry in the Olympic flag, beaming with pride.

1: Pageantry, spectacle and sportsmanship uniting nations one more time.

Bravo, Canada! Let the games begin!