So, against my better judgment, I am watching "America's Got Talent." One of the acts featured (and this is at the beginning of the show) fucked with Howie Mandel.

Now, the other judges thought this was hysterical, and when it happened last year, I must confess that I laughed hysterically. Now, it seems like every season there will be someone who messes with him and since he is a bona fide germaphobe, I am not sure that his discomfort should be played for our entertainment.

Anyone watching the show? Am I overreacting?

I don't watch the show. But if I were judging a contest, and it appeared that a contestant were intentionally pushing my phobia button, I wouldn't vote for that contestant to win.

Maybe if I were a movie bad guy, a come-uppance tied to my phobia might be entertaining (though the camera shouldn't dwell on it). But not a reality show judge.

It was made more unseemly because Piers and Sharon were laughing really hard and Howie was just sitting there not saying a word, looking daggers at the contestant. Howie was not laughing.

I thought Howie was going to have a legit freak out on tv.

I missed that but it sounds ugh. I did catch a few of the acts in the later part of the show. The light show thingy at the very end was seriously cool. Nothing else grabbed me.

Now, the other judges thought this was hysterical, and when it happened last year, I must confess that I laughed hysterically. Now, it seems like every season there will be someone who messes with him and since he is a bona fide germaphobe, I am not sure that his discomfort should be played for our entertainment.

I would feel bad, except that I saw a commercial that featured Howie trying to annoy the shit out of Piers Morgan (like yelling with a megaphone outside of his trailer when he was trying to take a nap, etc.)

The Voice: The only choice I didn't get was Christina's. And her song choice sucked, although not as much as Blake's, but that's par for the course at this point. He did have the best line of the night.

Did anything happen at the end when CD was signing off, or was the kiss the "surprise" ending?

Do live shows start next week?

Live shows do start next week, which I'm looking forward to because the battle rounds have really sucked. I've taken to dvr'ing the show and then fast forwarding to the performances only.

"Don't Let the Sun" was a showstopper, but the others were forgettable at best.

megan,

the kiss was the surprise.

Vortex,

okay, that does make me feel better. Thanks.

Brenda,

the light show was seriously AWESOME.

Thanks! I was hoping I missed a wild-card announcement.

I still think Adam has the best team, but it will be interesting to see what happens going forward as they have more exposure and experience on stage.

Here it is on youtube. [link]