I know I'm a bit late on this one, but I feel the need to comment on American Idol.  No, I don't want to comment on bogus claims of sexual impropriety by former untalented contestants.  I want to talk about the final four that we, the American people, have chosen as our favorites. 

 

Bo Bice is awesome.  Carrie Underwood is gorgeous AND can sing.  Vonzell is beautiful, but shaky at times.  Anthony Federov has a hole in his throat.  I would love to say more about him, but that's all my tiny mind can concentrate on when he hits the stage.

 

I, like most people who follow the show and refuse to miss an episode, believe it is down to a two person race.  I can't help it.  I'm like a twelve year old girl when that show comes on.  Bo and Carrie are clearly the two most talented people on the show.  I've been saying since the first week that it would come down to those two.  I don't want to take anything away from the other two remaining contestants, but sometimes getting this far is really good enough.

 

I almost feel bad for Vonzell.  She is very talented and very beautiful.  She really has evolved, both in singing and image, as the show has progressed.  I'm sure she has a future in the music business, but I doubt that it's as a superstar performer.  She would make a great backup singer or small club performer, but I just don't see her making it big, ala Kelly Clarkson.

 

Anthony Federov is a completely different story.  Here is a guy who was brought to the United States from Ukraine as a small boy.  He had a tracheotomy, leaving him with the possibility of never speaking normally again.  It also left him with the aforementioned hole in the throat.  To be fair, it's not so much a hole as it is an indention.  Still, it moves weird when he sings and speaks, and it freaks me out when he's on my television screen.  I feel the need to distract myself with shiny objects while he's performing just so I'm able to concentrate enough to hear him.  He is talented, but in that chorus member on Broadway sort of way.  That's still more talented than most of us, but not American Idol talented.

 

The choice of Bo or Carrie gives us a win-win for the ages.  Bo is cool.  Carrie is hot.  Both are well above average singers and performers.  I'm sure both will have albums that outsell the other Idol alum albums. 

 

So, congrats America.  You seem to be getting it right.  Then again, you may screw it all up tonight and send someone packing that doesn't deserve to go.  Afterall, it's our choice. 

 

 

 

As those of you who read this page (hi Patty) know, I work for a major pharmacy retailer.  From time to time there is a rash of media all devoted to what is seen as the next miracle cure.  The latest phenomenon has come in the form of Airborne.  Airborne was developed by Victoria Knight-McDowell, a second grade teacher ‘who was sick of catching colds in class’.  Just in case anyone is checking, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) did not evaluate the previous quote.  Then again, the FDA doesn’t evaluate any statements I make on this website.  The formula seems simple.  Mix a bunch of vitamins (mostly of Chinese origin) together with effervescence, and then rake in the dough. 

 

AIRBORNE Original: ingredients.
Supplement Facts: Serv size 1 tablet. Servings, 10. Amount per serving: Calories 4, Total Fat 0g, Sodium 230mg (10% DV*), Total Carb 0g, Sugars 0g, Protein 0g. Vitamin A (100% Acetate) 5,000 I.U. (100% DV*), Vitamin C 1,000mg (1,633% DV*), Vitamin E 30 I.U. (100% DV*), Magnesium (Sulfate) 40mg (10% DV*), Zinc (Sulfate) 8mg (55% DV*), Selenium (Sodium Selinite) 15mcg (21% DV*), Manganese (Gluconate) 3mg (86% DV*), Potassium (Bicarbonate) 75mg (2.5% DV*), Organic Herbal Extracts (Lonicera, Forsythia, Schizonepeta, Ginger, Chinese Vitex, Isatis Root, Echinacea) 350mg (DV**), Amino Acids (Glutamine, Lysine) 50mg (DV**).
*Daily Value.

Other Ingredients: Citric Acid, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sorbitol, Potassium Bicarbonate, Orange Flavor, Mineral Oil, Sucralose, Acesulfame Potassium.

                        Source: http://www.airbornehealth.com

 

 

By perusing the shamelessly self-promoting website, I learned that Airborne was launched in 1997.  While the product has been available in major retailers for several years, the company didn’t launch a national advertising campaign until 2002.  By working at a major pharmacy retailer (which is also a shameless self-promoter), I learned that Airborne did not become a juggernaut until Oprah Winfrey sang its praises.  The seemingly King Midas-like touch that Winfrey possesses is enough to make any product or service a sure moneymaker.  It was as though Airborne had the perfect name.  It was literally flying off of the shelves. 

 

But does it work?  Even with all of the media clippings and self-congratulatory offerings on the website, I was unable to find any clinical proof that this stuff does in fact work.  I could only find one quote that even touched upon the subject.  ‘This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.’  So why are we supposed to take it?  Why is sold from the aisle where I buy my cough and cold medicine?  What did you spend five years of your life doing?  Oh yeah, finding a way to make money.  Mission accomplished.  Airborne now makes over $10 million dollars a year.

 

I decided it was time that I gave this miracle drug a try.  The fine people at Knight-McDowell Labs recommend taking Airborne whenever you feel the first signs of a cold.  Having felt the sensation of sniffles and sinus pressure, it was show time.  After being warned by my boss and several customers to not take it as a chewable tablet, I placed one tablet in a small glass of water.  I then waited approximately a minute and a half for my tablet to dissolve.  Once that was done, I raised the glass to my mouth and began to drink.  There is a reasonable taste expectation when something is marked as ‘Orange Flavored’.  One would suspect the hint of an orange taste.  The best way for me to describe the taste of Airborne would be a carbonated, watered-down, rancid Tang flavor.  Again, keep in mind that the FDA has not evaluated this statement.

 

I waited patiently for my cold symptoms to go away.  After about an hour and a half, I had completely forgotten that I was ever feeling the onslaught of bacteria or that I had taken Airborne.  I seemed to be breathing fine and no longer felt the need to forcefully inhale through my nose.  So it worked, right?  How would anyone even know?  What if you weren’t actually getting sick in the first place?  Maybe you just had the sniffles because someone left the door hanging open too long on a cold winter day.  Maybe your sinus pressure was caused by a change in atmospheric pressure around you.  You will never know.  So it’s a win-win for Airborne.  Either you don’t get sick and think them to be geniuses, or you get sick and figure you had not paid close enough attention to your symptoms and had simply taken the Airborne too late.

 

While I’m sure that any doctor would recommend a regular vitamin intake to help stabilize the immune system, I doubt any of them would recommend waiting until you felt sick to start this new ritual.  Perhaps the better plan would be to take a daily multivitamin, drink a glass of vitamin C rich juice, and wear a hat outside in the cold.  At $7.00 for 10 tablets of a mystery concoction that ‘is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease’, it is certainly worth a try.  Maybe Airborne and the Knight-McDowell Lab should stop worrying about the FDA factor, and start worrying about the FAD factor.