Strange, very strange

We clicked on the television last night to catch the 9 o'clock edition of the news; big winter storm predicted, it was. However, the time was 8:45pm, so we had about fifteen minutes of surf time. On many television systems this would initiate a wave of options, but we do not have cable, so there's not much surfing going on. The four majors and PBS and the ride is over.

We landed on the tail-end of American Idol. Confession: I've never watched a prime-time episode of American Idol. It appeared that last night was something of an idol of a different gleam because they were raising money for charity and had global idols like Brad Pitt and Reese Witherspoon on stage. They probably raised more money last night than Obama did last month.

The host, some pre-adolescent named Ryan, came on and indicated the last number would be performed by the lesser idol wannabes and they would be singing Shout to the Lord. Shout to the Lord? I thought it might be some joke or there was some jimmycrack version of Shout to the Lord I didn't know about, but lo and behold, after a few moments of idol positioning onstage, a line of kids in white linen proceeded to sing the praise and worship chorus that churches have been worshipping for years: Shout to the Lord.

It was truly a moment as these kids sang and swayed and a screen behind them flashed scenes of needy children and people clapped a Shout to the Lord kinda clap as phrases like "mountains bow down and the seas will roar at the sound of his name" went out over the idyllic airwaves. Talk about a mashup. The kids completed their shouting to the Lord and confetti, yes confetti, began to fall like manna from heaven. After a short commercial break, Ben Stiller came back on some stage and dropped a few f-grenades that were bleeped out and everything was over.

I truly did not know how to feel.

The news came on and I fell asleep before the weather forecast.