Idiom Savant

I Admit This Grudgingly, #2

I don't know. Maybe I'll end up regretting this post as quickly as I ended up regretting the Color Me Badd incident of 2007*. In fact, this post, like that post, was brought about by my listening to local Rhythmic Adult Contemporary powerhouse radio station 93.9 KISS FM. So maybe there's inherent danger there.

But the plain fact is that I'm seriously digging Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)."

I'll probably get over this really quickly, and by this time tomorrow who's to say but that I'll become physically ill upon hearing this song. But part of the benefit of being as isolated from the popular zeitgeist as I am is that I get to be pleasantly surprised once in a while by something that everybody else caught on to months ago. And the Internet exists to capture these quicksilver moments -- to bottle the lightning of instant inspiration and ephemeral fascinations.

And so it is that this night, 18 March 2009, at approximately 10:50 Eastern Daylight Time, I proclaim to you all: I like this here song.

Single Ladies - Beyonce

And, in keeping with the record thus far of my "I Admit This Grudgingly" posts, there is a Justin Timberlake connection.

What can I tell you, America? I like what I like, sort of, temporarily.

* The incident in which I proclaimed my affection for a song which I ended up absolutely despising within 12 hours of the original posting. I can't stand "All for Love" now. Fickle? Perhaps.

ISIFOTBOYSTTD 2009: This Time, It's Once Again Annual

Idiom Savant stirs from the dead very rarely these days. But, like the return of daylight saving time and debilitating hay fever, you can always count on seeing a new post here sometime around early March.

That's right -- that which you have dreamed has once again become reality. It's time for the third annual Idiom Savant Invitational Fill Out Those Brackets On Yahoo Sports Thingit Type Deal.

Questions you may be asking yourself at this point may include the following:

Q: Am I eligible to participate?
A: If you are reading this, then yes.

Q: What must I do to participate?
A: The steps are these:

• Go here: http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/group/132864
• Click the "Join Group" button.
• If you already have a Yahoo! account, sign in. If not, you will need to sign up for an account.
• (If the above steps don't work, go to http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1, click "Join a Group," then on the button under "Accept an Invitation to Join a Group." Sign in or create a new account, then enter the Group ID number, which is 132864. No password.)
• Once you're signed in, you'll go to the "Assign a Bracket" page. Click "Create a New Bracket." Name it whatever you want, click the buttons for your preferences, and click "Submit."
• From there, follow the instructions on the page to make and submit your picks. Deadline is Thursday, March 19, at the start of the first game (noon, I think).

Q: What is at stake?
A: Nothing. There is no reward for winning, nor any penalty for losing. The whole experience may in fact leave you feeling enervated and hollow. The Earth revolves, another year begins and ends, we all crawl a bit closer to the grave. Go Heels.

Q: Who has won in the past?
A: Last year, I did, but just barely. In 2007, it was Minty.

Q: Are you OK? You haven't been writing much.
A: Yeah, I'm fine. Been busy, mostly. Thanks for asking.

And, as I do every year, America, I ask: We doin' this?

Oh, hells yeah. We doin' this.

ISIFOTBOYSTTD 2009 is brought to you by the Monongahela Metal Foundry -- casting steel ingots with the housewife in mind.