Let the Digital Television Revolution begin! Oh, wait, millions of us have converted to digital cable boxes already. Let me try this again. Let the Government-Enforced Digital Television Revolution begin! Okay, much better.

In order to test out the conversion of all media outlets and consumer televisions to digital service by February 17th, 2009, Wilmington, North Carolina decided to beat everyone to the punch and perform the conversion early. So, at noon on Monday, Wilmington mayor Bill Saffo and FCC Chairman Kevin Martin pulled a huge, symbolic power switch to convert all of the city from analog to digital broadcasts. Of course, things went off without a hitch. Uh-huh. And, Platyrrhini Cebidae soar out of my tushie!

Not long after the cut-over broadcasters in the area reported dozens of calls from residents within the city limits and surrounding counties who either weren't prepared for the conversion or couldn't get their brand-new digital-converter boxes to work with their old analog sets. Both the networks and the FCC knew that this would happen and expected to receive calls over the next few weeks from the 14,000 households who received their signals from over-the-air broadcasting.

If you're sick of hearing about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, then this should come as welcome news. According to TV Newser, the North Carolina Democratic Party has canceled a scheduled debate between the two remaining candidates. It was set to air on CBS. Katie Couric and Bob Schieffer were scheduled to moderate. It would have probably earned decent ratings, too, since CBS planned to air the hour long debate following an episode of 60 Minutes.

According to the NCDP website, the debate was canceled due to "time constraints and logistical issues." I suppose that makes sense. Both Clinton and Obama are running around like crazy in an effort to secure last minute votes during the final Democratic primaries. Pennsylvania's is today.

What did Katharine McPhee do to tip the balance in the universe so bad things happen to her? Maybe it's because she continues to sing Somewhere Over the Rainbow as if she wrote the song herself. Earlier this week, she broke her foot during a performance. Her wranglers say she tripped on something backstage at the Idols concert in Charlotte, North Carolina. She sang two songs wearing "slipper sandals" (huh?) and then went directly to the hospital for x-rays, which revealed a broken left foot. She had just rejoined the tour last Friday after suffering from bronchitis and laryngitis. This mishap, however, is not enough for her to leave the tour.

Oh, YouTube! Where were you back in the day when the wrong graphic appeared next to a Portland news anchor's head? It was a photo of a man with the caption, 'Arm Amputated', and he said, "With this tight economy, everybody's making cutbacks." Classic.

YouTube is quickly becoming a great place for local news bloopers. A friend alerted me to this one the other day. The anchor's slip-up about a Mount Everest climber just defies explanation. I don't want to ruin it for you, just check it out.

And, Lost Remote brought two other clips to my attention. One is a rapping traffic report. By a white girl. With blonde hair. And she's rapping about morning commute traffic. In North Carolina. The other clip is of the Terre Haute, Indiana weather wars promos featured prominently on The Daily Show.

Long Q and A with Kellie Pickler over at Entertainment Weekly's web site. I like how she understands that she really gave two bad performances in a row and was lucky to last as long as she did, but this quote sticks out to me, as she answers a question about not knowing what a minx or calamari are, or how to pronounce the word salmon:

"To be honest, that kind of hurt my feelings. I don't think people realize I went from a small town in North Carolina to Los Angeles, so of course there are going to be things I don't know."

What, they don't have salmon in North Carolina restaurants? They don't use the words minx and calamari there? They don't use the phrase "on paper" (something Simon said to her) in the Carolinas?

I wasn't really sure whether a move to North Carolina was a good idea anyway, but I would have liked the dilemma. HGTV is giving away its latest Dream Home in a live special this Saturday at 8 pm. I know this because I received an e-mail telling me to watch. This should tell you two things: 1) I entered the contest, and 2) I didn't win. If I did win, I'd be one of these people. This year, HGTV is taking a different approach to announcing the winner. It will fly three final contestants to this home for the live broadcast, where two people will learn that they won $100,000 while the other person wins the home. I guess $100,000 is a nice consolation prize.

Sigh. I really didn't need that much living space, anyway. I'd probably lose my cats and my husband somewhere in the 5,000 square foot home.

It must be the crowd, and not the cameras or the lights, that is making Kellie Pickler nervous. After all, she has been on a televised singing competition before. And it wasn't too long ago. TMZ has a short video clip of Kellie competing in a 2005 Charlotte, North Carolina singing competition called Gimme the Mike (we have a version here in Portland, too). Kellie made it into the top five but did not win. The clip over at TMZ shows Kellie singing Independence Day and Stand by Your Man. I think she's yelling the songs, but, then again, I think she yells every song. There are also photos from her high school yearbook where she's totally into cheerleading and she still has naturally blond hair.

This news comes from the National Enquirer, so take it with a bucket of salt, but someone has come forward and said that they have in fact made sweet, sweet love to Clay Aiken, and it isn't a girl.

 

John Paulus claims he met Aiken on a Web site and that Clay was looking for a "discreet BF" (the "BF" stands for "boyfriend" just to clear that up right away). The two allegedly met in a North Carolina hotel room for a night of sensual southern magic. Ah, hells yeah.

This would be a great story, perhaps one for next year's Christmas letter, but I don't believe it. It's from the National Enquirer, so it loses some credibility in that respect. Also, I can't imagine Clay, who stays relatively cool about the whole gay/not gay thing, would risk exposing himself by contacting some random guy via the Web. Clay has money, and if he wants a gay rendezvous with no strings attached he could make it happen. If not, then what's the point of having all that money?

 

I had the very same reaction as The New York Post did when they watched the AI auditions from North Carolina on Tuesday night. There was one person who stood out. One person who I can really picture having a career as a singer, whether she wins Idol or not.

It's Paris Bennent, the 17 year old who sang "Cowboy Take Me Away" and "Take Five." She has control, maturity, and a voice that sounds so classic (so classic you think she probably shouldn't be singing the types of songs that an AI win will have her singing). A teenager who seemed to channel Billie Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald, or to a lesser extent Rosemary Clooney at her best. Great control, strong, with an integrity you could hear and feel.

Which, of course, means she probably won't win American Idol. But I can't wait til they get to the Hollywood competition! 

Tonight we are in Greensboro, North Carolina. The South, which birthed stars like Fantasia, Ruben, Bo and Clay, so there should be some great talent here, right? Well...

Things get started with Sabrina, a girl with a too-short jean skirt, a thick Southern accent, and the belief her success at karaoke bars can translate to American Idol. Oh yeah. She's gonna suck. And she does. And Simon lands the first major insult of the night, saying "You are more Jerry Springer Show than American Idol. I can see you doing very well on that show." Sabrina's offended, but I see what he's saying. The skimpy outfit and the thick accent are a prerequisite for Springer, right?