Rupert Murdoch as American Idol judge

Some think Simon is not replacable on American Idol. Judge Randy Jackson has an idea.

Addiction to Reality TV

If you have pushed your own life aside to watch reality TV, you may experience withdrawal symptoms. Doctors say it's not as severe as say a cocaine addict, but people still feel the pain.

The Television schedule is such that show finale often happen around the same time. That's deliberate. We saw the finale of "Dancing With the Stars" and "American Idol" last week.

If you can't live without DWTS, maybe it's time to take a ballroom dancing class or Idol fans can hit the right note at karaoke night.

Hopefully, you don't have something awful in your life that requires escapism. If you do, maybe this is the time to explore that.

Update: Susan Boyle

"Britain's Got Talent" and Susan Boyle is proof. The 47-year old singer on the "American Idol" type singing competition advanced to the next round. She will perform again tonight. The show says that performance will be available almost instantly on YouTube.

The unlikely star has been seen on YouTube some 60 million times.

American Idol (people in their 30's need not apply)

Tonight's "American Idol" was a reminder of several things, among them the fact that one of the qualities we appreciate in our Idols is their youth. All of this year's Idol top 8 finalists were born in the 80's save one -- who was born in the 90's.

So what were these mysterious 80's that gave birth to all these Idol contestants? The answer is complicated, but if you had to explain the 80's to someone who had never been there -- a time traveller from medieval France, say, or a member of the Dani tribe -- you would do well to begin at the top: the hair. See? Here. And here.

pictured: Singer Adam Lambert (born 1982) and singer Robert Smith (born 1959, but pictured circa 1982)

How Today Looks Ground Zero?

In the hubub of daily news -- AIG bonus payouts, March Madness, the 17th season of American Idol -- okay, so not the 17th season, but still -- it sometimes is refreshing to take a look at slow-moving project. Like the Pitch Drop Experiment. Or maybe the building progress at Ground Zero.

This fellow blogger's apartment overlooks Ground Zero, and he takes a picture of the construction every day. The photographs are strung together to create time-elapse movies. While there are other cams overlooking Ground Zero, How Today Looks Ground Zero is the best. And not only for its Yodaspeak title.