AMERICAN IDOL NOTES
We got it wrong. American Idol voters sent Brooke White back to Mesa, Arizona last night. The 24-year-old folk-friendly singer was in tears as she sang off with Neil Diamond's "I Am, I Said." But Brooke took a back seat to the controversy created by Paula Abdul. Early in the show, Ryan Seacrest reassured America that rumors of Paula's remarks being scripted were false. Abdul critiqued two of Jason Castro's songs when he'd only sung one. Yesterday on Seacrest's L-A based radio show, Paula confirmed the long-suspected practice of judge's using rehearsal performances to guide them in judging the final song. The fact that judges watch rehearsals has been previously mentioned both on Idol and in press interviews.
Not to be outdone, Simon Cowell had his own kerfuffle. Cowell confirms rumors that he and guest star Neil Diamond were at odds. Simon tells us, "I don't think he took very kindly to some of the things that I said about his songs. That's the trouble when you get an artist and you sing their songs, some of them take it a little bit personally. I didn't buy any of his records, and I guess he found out." As for the song that sank Brooke, Cowell holds to his "nightmare" critique of "I'm a Believer." He insists, "It's the sort of thing that would wake you up at night. You wouldn't want to wake up to that in your alarm clock, would you?"
EWWWW...
Every now and then, we'll hear about a study that found that the typical doorknob contains more bacteria than your garbage disposal, or whatever.
Well today, we thought we'd fill you in on the latest hotspot for festering bacteria... your computer keyboard.
A recent study found that ONE in TEN people NEVER clean their keyboard, and ONE in FIVE don't clean their mouse.
And overall... the average computer keyboard is FIVE TIMES filthier than the average toilet seat.
ART FOR SALE
Starting May 8, you can bid on the doodles of stars to benefit NF, Inc., an organization that provides support to folks and families affected by neurofibromatosis. "What's that?" you ask. It's a genetic disorder that affects one in every 2,500 births. (Dallas' Pam Ewing had it, you may recall.) You can check out his drawing, along with everyone from Ellen DeGeneres to Scarlett Johansson's, at DoodleDayUSA.org.
HERE ARE FIVE FOOD SAFETY MYTHS
Here are a few things you've probably heard about food safety that are complete myths:
"I can eat cooked food a week later." Cooked food only stays good for two to three days in the fridge.
"I'll eat around the mold." If you see mold on your food, get rid of it. Don't eat around the mold on a piece of cheese. That green fuzz is just the tip of the iceberg and mold has probably penetrated the block of cheese further than you can see.
"I don't have to put cooked rice or pasta in the fridge." Not true. If you're at a picnic and you leave pasta or rice sitting out in the sun, that bowl is going to become a breeding ground for germs.
"I'm going to stay away from seafood because it's more susceptible to food poisoning." You have the same chance of getting food poisoning from seafood as you do any other kind of meat.
"I've got three seconds to eat this piece of food I just dropped on the floor." Even if food makes contact with the floor or an unclean surface for just a split second, the food will be covered in germs that you cannot simply brush away. If you drop it, throw it away.
