Idle with Idol

Just when I thought that I was out they pull me back in! While American Idol is already a distant memory, this past Monday was the first episode of the most popular show in Canada, Canadian Idol. It was a little weird watching people sing in front of "Not-Paula," "Not-Randy," "Not-Simon" and "The Other Guy." I still don't know who these judges are yet, but I'll get the hang of it. Right now they are at the audition phase with the idiots who think they rock hard. But, since it's Canada, even the clueless auditioners aren't nearly as obnoxious as the U.S. auditioners. The judges aren't nearly as mean, either. That's just the Canadian way. My other new Summer show is "Gameshow Marathon," also a transplant from another country. It's hosted by the bland Ricki Lake with celebrities competing against each other by playing classic TV game shows like "Family Feud," "Press Your Luck" and (my favorite!) "Match Game." Last night's show was "The Price is Right" and I am so on board. It's like CBS looked into my soul and said, "Here is the show for you!" Sigh. I just read a book about people obsessed with crossword puzzles, Crossworld. It was all well and good, I actually liked the similar Scrabble-themed book, Word Freak, a lot better, but that's not the point. The point is much of the book centers around a young crossword puzzle constructor by the name of Brendan Emmett Quigley. It was weird because I went to college with him, back when he was just Brendan Quigley. He used to date one of my friends and was in an improv group with another friend. He wasn't a close friend by any stretch, but it was still weird to read a book about someone I know, sort of. He now has his own book out of crossword puzzles that he constructed. I know his puzzles are way out of my skill level, but I should give it a try anyway. A CANADIAN FACT! In Season 2 of Canadian Idol, there was a Gordon Lightfoot theme night!