What HuffPo is good for

I like to make cracks about the Huffington Post, in large part because it's one-stop shopping for idiotic opinions offered with grave seriousness by famous people. However, I feel that it's only fair to point out that it's good for something.

It's good for keeping me informed about popular culture trends I can't be bothered to track otherwise.

Exhibit A is American Idol. I watched for the first season with some regularity, and then the bloom plopped unceremoniously off the rose and I haven't cared since. Apparently, it's still quite the television phenomenon, proving that celebrity insanity is a bankable commodity. And I guess they crowned this season's "winner" last night.

Let's get to it, shall we?

Kris Allen's smooth vocals and boy-next-door image propelled him to "American Idol" victory Wednesday, turning the theatrical powerhouse Adam Lambert into the most unlikely of also-rans.

"I'm sorry, I don't even know what to feel right now. This is crazy," said a stunned Allen, 23, of Conway, Ark.

As host Ryan Seacrest said in announcing the result of the viewer vote, "The underdog, the dark horse, comes back and wins the nation over."

I think I speak for much of "the nation" when I politely inquire, "who"? On the other hand, I am grateful to the Huffington Post for this article, as it would have been terribly embarrassing to have been won over without knowing it.

I also was particularly tickled by this:

Chris Daughtry and Jennifer Hudson, who finished fourth and seventh in their respective seasons, have gone on to huge success. As for "Idol" winners, they range from blockbuster artists like Carrie Underwood to the mostly under-the-radar Taylor Hicks.

I like that "under-the-radar." It's so much nicer than "thudding failure." From what I understand, and was able to observe from snippets of his performances while channel-surfing, a major flaw in Mr. Hicks's pursuit of a singing career is that he is lousy singer. (While lack of talent in one's chosen field is no guarantee of failure, neither is it a particularly helpful attribute.)

Earlier this week, Allen said he hoped the outcome wouldn't be decided by "having the Christian vote."

"I hope it has to do with your talent and the performance that you give and the package that you have. It's not about religion and all that kind of stuff," he said.

I'm tickled by how easily that quote could have been mistaken for a secret confession by Mitt Romney.

Finally, I am so very, very grateful to the HuffPo for filling me in on who won without my having to witness this:

Rod Stewart sang "Maggie May" after the male finalists opened for him with "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy."

No, Rod, I don't. And watching you singing it, with or without the male AI finalists, would probably make my eyes bleed.

For those of you oblivious to the ongoing juggernaut that is American Idol, you can now consider yourselves informed. Feel free to sink back into benign indifference.