Mrs. America 2005

While waiting for Pooteewheet to show up from the laundry room so we could watch another hour of Seven Samurai, I was treated to several minutes of the 2005 Mrs. America paegent. Is We kidding? What executive over there thinks this thing is empowering for women? I was a bit creeped out by the whispering of "Mrs. America, Mrs. America, Mrs. America" as they came back from a commercial break, which sounded exactly like the coo, coo, coo, coo, choo, choo, choo, choo Friday the 13th soundtrack. I was annoyed by the whole "Spirit of America Award". According to the web, it's something the United Way gives out, and that would be great - an award for dedication to volunteer work - maybe for helping refugees from Katrina or raising money for poor children in Appalachia or promoting literacy. But no, this was an award that went to last year's Mrs. America for inspirational singing of the national anthem. I don't remember Jimi Hendrix ever being a posthumous recipient of the award, so it just can't be that great an honor.