You know, when I’m not shooting news stories or penning late-night fables, there’s nothing I enjoy more than spreading delusions among our young people…

You there – with the faux-hawk and and facial tats – what are YOU doing still living in your parents’ basement? With a voice like that you could be cutting records, filling stadiums, or at the very least, headlining a laundromat grand opening! You were right to drive across three states for some time in our spotlight! What’s that? School? Who needs school when you got pipes like yours? No, what you need, young man, is a good spray tan! That and perhaps some skinny jeans. What you DON’T need to do is change your vocal style. Why, with your crazy stare and my connections we could corner the market on death-metal yodeling! Just don’t listen to those other judges. They’re jealous of my dressing room! Why, just the other day I caught the pink-haired one rifling through my pills. She doesn’t even HAVE psoriasis!

Hmm? I’ve NOT been chosen as a celebrity judge? What will I do with all this body-glitter? On second thought, forget I mentioned it. Clearly, I’ve let my imagination get the better of my blog. That’s what happens when you rise before dawn, hydroplane down the interstate and openly consort with ingenues and warblers. Yep, it’s another audition stop for American Idol, the show that unleashed the likes of Clay Aiken ona an unsuspecting nation. This time, the show’s producers have taken over the Charlotte Motor Speedway – a place I never once visited before today. And what a day! From interviewing hopefuls to staving off starvation to pretending to understand what Randy Jackson was saying, I haven’t had this much fun since the last time I edged my driveway! There was, however, one bright spot…

Midway through the day, Shannon and I were ushered up the the fifth floor to get a look at the new set. We tried our best to act professional, but as soon as the production crew turned their back, we wiggled our way behind the judge’s table. It was hella-fun, until that one lighting tech broke out his Taser.

You wouldn’t think a guy with that many tools hanging off him could move so fast…