The new season of American Idol begins tonight with four hours of programming over the next two nights. Mrs. Major and Son Major enjoy this show. I use the show as an opportunity to read or fool around on the computer.

Kevin McDonough, in his column “Tune In Tonight,” sums the program up very well:

With its endless hours of idle chatter and forgettable patter, “Idol” was made for the fast-forward button. I tend to speed over the obviously horrible performances, the banal travelogue and practically every segment featuring Ryan Seacrest. Technology can be a wonderful thing.

I say, “Just saying, ‘no,’ can be a wonderful thing.”