Most people ...

When I was a kid, I remember my Dad always watched those boring PBS shows. This Old House - at that time with Bob Vila - was one of "those" shows. As an only child, at times I would sit through it, merely out of boredom. I would also try to aggravate him and/or try to not-so-stealthily cheat if he had also agreed to play a game with me while watching his shows.

I must confess that as a home-owning adult I now enjoy watching This Old House (TOH). And, Ask This Old House. Someday I want them to come to my home to help diagnose and fix a problem. Most people dream of being on American Idol or Oprah, but me - I want to be on TOH. No one talks around the water cooler about the funny answers that Kevin and Richard make up on the "what is it" segment of TOH or the latest house they're working on in/around Boston.

Instead at a business lunch this week - with seven other non-androids - the entire conversation centered unwaveringly on the premiere of American Idol. I just sat and (tried to) look interested.

While I must confess that I have a Kelly Clarkson tune or two on my iPod (despite the fact that she was a byproduct of that awful show), I still wonder what the heck is with this show? Are the masses hooked because it is a televised train wreck mixed with the hope of overnight stardom?

Most people would also gush about seeing Keanu Reeves up close & personal when they were in New York City. But me, I bragged about eating dinner near John Stossel. Everyone knows that Hung kid who sang "She Bangs" on American Idol, but most people I told about my Stossel sighting had NO IDEA who he was. The nerve!