Exciting developments.

Okay, maybe these aren't exactly exciting, but when your life is as routine and uneventful as mine, you have to get your kicks where you can find them.

As you can see above, we were thrilled to discover that our first feathered tenants have taken residence in our birdhouse.



We are also proud to announce that Marcus caught a ball in mid-air not once, but twice. However, he still lets cheese, cereal and other bits bounce off his nose, so I don't know if he'll ever reach Daisy's level of proficiency when it comes to catching food.

Lastly, remember the movie Miracle on 34th Street (Although it seems silly to have to say this for a 63 year old movie, consider this a spoiler alert if you haven't seen it)? Attorney Fred Gaily was able to prove the existence of Santa Claus because a government agency, the U.S. Postal Service, recognized Kris Kringle as the one true Santa Claus by delivering Santa's mail to him at the courthouse.



It's official, as I too have been formally recognized by the U.S. Postal Service, but as "The Ross Trendsetter"." And before anyone asks, yes, they meant me because Mark doesn't shop for women's clothing and New York & Company doesn't sell anything in Lauren's current size. Don't worry - I won't let my new title go to my head.

On an unrelated note, I am very stoked for the men's figure skating finals tonight, even though there's no way I'm going to be able to stay awake until the end. I get such a kick out of Evgeni Plushenko's Soviet style posturing, but I'm totally routing for Evan Lysacek (Tall guys with dimples for the win!). Unfortunately for Evan, usually the person that I route for in this situation tanks, so we shall see!

(Alright, maybe this post was just really an excuse for this...)

***Begin American Idol blabbering***

After weeks of enduring the seemingly neverending audition episodes, we finally made it to my favorite part of the show - the Top 24! Actually, for me (for you, for me - TM Randy Jackson), Top 24 through Top 8 is my favorite because that seems to be when the most memorable performances occur. After that, I think the contestants (and me) start to burn out from the stress and strain.

I feel AI has gotten back on track this year. Returning to the top 24 format alone is enough to redeem the show in my eyes, but the quality of the contestants has also improved. At this point last year, there were no less than four people that made me want to throw stuff at my tv (Norman Gentle. Tatiana Del Toro. Nathaniel Headband, anyone?), but this year, everyone is fairly likable. I also appreciate that we've actually gotten to see and hear the majority of the Top 24. Usually, there are only a handful that are shoved down our throats, giving the poor unknowns with little to no screen time a big disadvantage to overcome.

So, in an unprecedented move, I'm going to try to predict who will be in the Top 12. Here we go (in no such order):

Andrew Garcia
Tyler Grady
Casey Jones
Michael Lynch
John Park
Aaron Kelly

Crystal Bowersox
Ashley Rodriguez
Haeley Vaughn
Lilly Scott
Katie Stevens
Didi Benami

(That last one was a really tough pick because all the blonde girls are running together for me.)

A few more predictions:

Season 9 Winner will be...a blonde girl. ;)

Guy Who Will Sing Last on Top 24 Night: Andrew Garcia

Girl Who Will Sing Last on Top 24 Night: Crystal Bowersox

Contestant Most Likely to Annoy Me:

Right now, Todrick Hall kinda gets on my nerves, but someone else could certainly pull ahead of him. The field is wide open!

Contestant Most Likely to Earn My Obsessive Support to the Point of Irrationality: Tyler Grady

Come May, let's see how well I did!