boooblog

Final Four season is upon us once again. Not the silly NCAA spectacle, but the happy-time fun show that is American Idol. Granted, the actual final four doesn't happen for at least three more months, but it isn't too early to start betting on it, Vegas style. So here is the American Idol pool I have proposed to my friends:

1. Each participant pledges $40.
   
2. After the Top 24 are named tomorrow night, we each choose which contestants will be in the final four.
3. We then submit our choices to the pool administrator who will enter them into a handy and nicely-formatted chart.
4. We watch as the weeks wear on and some names are crossed from the list while others push through to the end.

The Payout

Each participant's share of the pool is a function of their correct percentage of predictions relative to the total number of correct predictions from the entire pool. For example:

Person #1: 2
Person #2: 1
Person #3: 0
Person #4: 1
Person #5: 4

Total: 8

Person #1: $200 x 2 / 8 = $50 ($10 Gain)
Person #2: $200 x 1 / 8 = $25 ($15 Loss)
Person #3: $200 x 0 / 8 = $0 ($40 Loss)
Person #4: $200 x 1 / 8 = $25 ($15 Loss)
Person #5: $200 x 4 / 8 = $100 ($60 Gain)

So....... who's in?

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UPDATE: We have slightly amended the rules. The betting starts when we get to the top 12. That way we get to give everyone a full audition. So take a few weeks to make your decisions.

I recently received some criticism for my book review in which David Sedaris earned a lower Homo rating than Wicked. I feel I need to defend my judgement. Read below for my open letter to the naysayers.

re: The Homo Factor

David Sedaris isn't funny because he's gay. He's gay and funny. Yes he lives with his boyfriend in Paris, but it reads like they are any other old married couple. His writing differs greatly from Augusten Borroughs', who occasionally reminisces about sexual encounters at age 13 with the neighborhood pedophile.

Wicked is a tale of a woman whose lover was taken from her and features a detailed love scene between a "Winkie" and a Munchkin. The fact that I felt like I was reading a Harlequin romance novel with a green Fabio on the cover prompted me to up the Homo factor.

I stand by my rating.