The Royal Wedding in Pictures

"She wore the dress. The dress didn't wear her."

The Royal Wedding: Official Programme

The Official Royal Wedding Website

In the midst of our own family BIG-0 birthday celebrations for my husband and youngest daughter, The Royal Wedding took a recorded rather than live action priority. Wedding streamed from the Royal Channel on YouTube, this link lets you select portions of the coverage to replay.

Yes, I watched as much coverage as I could while baking and otherwise preparing for a house full of guests, my own version of bed, bath and body and beyond. I have no servants.

Still, I wanted to blog. I wanted to quote speeches and search for pictures that displayed the day's events from start to finish. Having visited London and walked through Westminster Abbey where so much English history is memorialized, I had plenty of scope for the imagination.

Here's a summary then of what commentators called "the wedding of the century," which of course means this century. Do the math. Nothing for the next 88 years can top this occasion. Apparently billions of people agree.

These are the best pictures I found, "The Big Picture" at boston.com

Other coverage noted as follows:

The Telegraph Coverage of the Wedding

ABC News photos of the Royal Wedding

The Reception Dress and other links via AOL

Wedding of the century indeed or perhaps, but such a statement made me think of a recent American Idol live broadcast when Jennifer Lopez referred to James Durbin's performance as the best of the night, and he was only the second person to perform. Or while awaiting the Royal Couple's much anticipated balcony kiss, one talking head predicted a "Hollywood style kiss full of passion" between William and Catherine. Ooops.

Chuckle and nod to hindsight when we climb out on a limb and carry our own saw.

Here's a link to Time magazine's Mad Hatters, also called "13 Ridiculous Royal Wedding Hats." I love hats.

Favorite quote: “When Princess Elizabeth, now Queen Elizabeth II, married Philip Mountbatten in November 1947, Winston Churchill welcomed the wedding as 'a flash of color on the hard road we travel.'”

Crowds gathered and behaved

Apparently billions of people agree that Prince William and Catherine's Royal Wedding brightens the current world scene, a flash of color set against the gloomy backdrop of killer tornadoes on this side of The Pond, earthquakes in various places as well as ongoing wars against terrorists.

Although unlikely that I will return to this topic, I do want to go on record: the wedding was SPLENDID.

We the people love our fairy tales.

And I hope that the prince and his bride live happily ever after.

An American Idol Experience

What do you get when you don't get what you want?

Experience.

That's what I told Rose before she began the American Idol audition process. Although she was not sure she wanted what she sought, we decided beforehand that the trouble was worth the egalitarian experience.

An aphorism that applies when things fail to turn out the way we hope, I had to admit that everyone there had their hopes, if not dreams, of a "golden ticket." American Idol has tapped into a vein of desire in enough people to produce 9 seasons of the number one show in television.

People will stand in lines, sleep in parking lots and come from all parts of the country for the slice of a chance at a recording contract, a glorified emblem of the American Dream. A compressed cattle call audition, typical in New York and L.A., is how I would describe the process. But hey, nobody made anybody suffer for their art.

We can always choose to take with us something that contributes, informs or otherwise enhances subsequent experiences, each forming a portion of our unique stories.

Rose and I sat in the crowd of 10,000, among the first persons to occupy the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium, an experience in itself. Since I cannot foresee myself attending one of the upcoming football season's games, taking pictures inside made my day.

When the towering glass doors opened, sliding and stacked to the sides like a hero sandwich, massive amounts of air conditioning poured into the atmosphere.

Rose said, "That was cool."

A Waiting Experience

At 6:30 a.m. yesterday, Rose and I found our way to the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium in Arlington to wait for wristbands so that she can, hopefully, audition tomorrow for American Idol.

I said, "I can't believe there are this many people who think they can sing."

But the huge crowd was well-behaved, and standing in line felt more like waiting to enjoy a ride at Six Flags or Disneyworld rather than the masses crowded into cattle cars or waiting for the gas chambers at Auschwitz, mainly because we had a choice about being there.

So after a couple of hours, all but the last 10 minutes in the swelling heat under a red alert air advisory, we left with two tickets for tomorrow's main event (each contestant can bring only one person with them), wearing paper wristbands that we cannot get wet.

So until tomorrow …

American Idol: Cultural Phenomenon and Personal Commentary

If you or I were a contestant on American Idol, would it surprise you more to hear Simon Cowell pronounce in front of the millions-peopled audience that “I don’t think you’re as good as you think you are” or “That was a terrible song-choice” or “I think you need more confidence”? The response to that question would reveal as much about you or me as it does any judge’s subjective opinion.

While America has crowned the Brit, Cowell, the critic people love to hate, his friends Randy Jackson and Paula Abduhl often disagree. Like the nose on their face, people bring their opinions with them wherever they go. A balance of power teetering on a panel of judges.

Now in its eighth season, American Idol has added a fourth judge, Kara DioGuardi. Yet Simon Cowell sets the gold-standard for on-the-air, recording industry criticism by telling the truth—as he sees it—which is what he gets paid to do. Simon says, “Do you want to get better or do you want to whine?”

That’s entertainment.

The producers of American Idol confer positional authority to these judges —the power both to select and to reject—which makes the judges’ opinions more influential than yours or mine. 

The audience gets glimpses but never really knows the person behind the façade, contestants or judges. We see what the camera wants us to see. The producers, directors, cameramen, writers, editors et al piece together an emotional collage to promote a following, attract sponsors while the show’s viewers hold the wild card.

The whole celebrity phenomenon boils down to what Ted Koppell termed, “Vanna-tized,” a play on the name, Vanna White—card-turning face on the long-playing TV game show, Wheel of Fortune. People see what they project onto the celebrity, not the person who exists in real life.

Idol’s popularity derives from viewers’ fascination with the contestants who dress up, dress down or flip out to vie for national attention. A chance for Andy Warhol’s 15 minutes of fame or as it turns out 15 seconds of face time on network television baits a tantalizing hook.

All contestants have convinced themselves they can sing while those who cannot sing don’t even know how to blush. People who presume they have talent continue to fill stadiums, vying for a chance to audition. 

Who hasn’t told these people the truth before now?

Astonished audiences feel embarrassed for deluded people. Some watchers delight to have a laugh. Judges let the ax fall where it must. 

A cultural phenomenon gives way to personal commentary: “Do you want to get better or do you want to whine?”

Maybe I’m not as good as I think I am. Maybe at a moment of extraordinary opportunity I will make the wrong choice. Or maybe I lack the confidence to risk challenging people’s opinions. Only when the TV gets turned off can I see my own reflection.

American Idol succeeds though because it gives the audience a stake in the outcome, harnesses the audience’s imagination, and somehow manages to make the contestant’s goal seem worthwhile.