After many months, it seems issues I had been having with my RSS feed have been rectified. Truth is, I had no idea there had been problems. However, an aggregator with whom I have been working tipped me off to it.

The URL for my RSS is http://www.ryanwelton.com/rss.xml, should you have a client that works as an RSS reader.

Most of my week has been at the piano, at the Korg D1200 recorder, trying to get my songwriting on. What I've learned about the Idol song contest is basically that 30,000 entries were submitted and that they'll be using the actual demos for the purpose of voting, instead of doing re-productions of these tunes to put the amateurs and pros on the same footing.

I don't want to offend the songwriting establishment, but the process to create songs, particularly in Nashville, kind of bothers me to my core. For those of you who don't know, professional songwriters do not perform or play on their own tracks like 95 percent of the time when preparing them for a publisher or label.

The writers write and then hand it off to a demo house for sterilization, er, recording. To me, even if the performances aren't perfect, I'd rather hear the songwriter perform his or her own song. The notion of being able to write songs without being able to play an instrument, which is possible under the standard way of doing things in this industry, is off-putting to me.

Unfortunately, the general public isn't able to get past production in a lot of music. This is why Nelly Furtado, Fergie and many others are popular, and it's why I refer to their recordings as "production music," a genre unto itself.

Nevertheless, I am under no impression that I would be in the Top 20 anyway. Heck, if I had to guess where that tune I wrote would place in a competition with 30,000 entries, I'd say it would definitely make the Top 1,000 -- maybe even the Top 750.

... Speaking of Idol ...

While it was time for Sanjaya to be banished from Season 6, I have to just be blunt: This season is likely to be remembered for our little friend from Federal Way, Wash. Each year, there is one contestant who should have never been in the Top 12, and vocally it was Malakar.

However, folks have to realize that this is still a reality show, and given that I'm a connoisseur of all-things-reality, I would absolutely put this kid up for induction into the Reality Hall of Fame. First ballot. Immediate induction. In fact, if Idol ever has an all-stars season, this kid will be invited back. Promise.

Furthermore, if I were an executive at Nickelodeon, I would be brainstorming ideas and opportunities for Sanjaya. The kid will never sell a million records consistently, without the help of something novelty-oriented, but he is a gold mine, at least until his 15 minutes are completely used up.

... More songwriting ...

As I'm beefing up my songwriting portfolio, I'll be posting songs in the right-hand margin of this Web site, and I'll be posting them to my MySpace.com page. That can be found at http://www.myspace.com/ryanwelton. I am hoping this will happen often, and my request of anybody who visits is to let me know if/when they hear something they like.

... Women and guns ...

In light of the Virginia Tech tragedy this week, I mused to a friend that I'd prefer we just do away with guns, and I really do. Can't stand them. There's no real use for a handgun besides to kill another human being. However, my friend pointed out correctly that it's pretty much only men who abuse them at the massacre level.

So, her thought? Only let women have them.

I'm not totally against it. Hell, no really would mean no at that point, no?

... Presidential Picks ...

After watching Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton pander to the masses with their call for Don Imus' head two weeks ago, I've decided that it's pretty important that we avoid both of these candidates in 2008. I won't support either.

If Al Gore wants to run, that's another story.

However, for now, my support leans toward Rudy Giuliani. He's moderate. He's proven as a leader during a time of crisis. People genuinely respect the guy, and he strongly reminds me of FDR.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a New Yorker who served 12 years as president after the disastrous run of Herbert Hoover. In this case, Hoover is analagous to Bush, and Rudy to FDR.

Giuliani came to OKC this week to speak at the bombing memorial, and the colleague I noted in a previous blog entry who worked on the Clinton campaign said this was a guy she could get behind. That he sounded presidential.

I completely agree. There are a few issues surrounding his candidacy, but they're minor. For example, the firefighters in New York, at least at the leadership level, don't care for him. However, that kind of issue is almost always political.

I do think Rudy cheated on his wife or wives or mistresses, which is a political problem, at least if we're going to be fair to the hell Republicans put Clinton through in the late 1990s. I don't really care. In fact, I think most great men probably have a problem with fidelity because that command of power is probably attractive to women.

I wouldn't know because I am built more like Karl Rove.

... Game 7 ...

Dallas Stars are headed to Vancouver, B.C., for Game 7 of the first round of their NHL playoff series with the Canucks. For those of you who don't watch much sports, hockey Game 7s are typically more exciting than in just about any other sport, particularly if the game goes to overtime.

Hockey is such a glorious sport (at the pro level), and the league should be super ashamed with how it's been marketed the past five to 10 years.

... Game 1 ...

The Dallas Mavericks begin their two-month trek toward NBA immortality by winning, hopefully, a basketball title in June. But first, they'll have to get by Golden State, a team that has dominated them the past couple of years.

Anything less than the NBA championship is a disappointment for Dallas. However, there is no chance that this is going to be easy.

Really, anything more the Stars can do in the hockey playoffs, should they beat Vancouver on Monday, is a bonus. However, the Mavs' run this year really is sports life-and-death. After last year's meltdown in the finals, all we've thought about is "can't wait until we get that chance for redemption," and it's here.

One thing that might surprise you about me, given that you know I'm a giant Sooners fan. I would trade a win over Texas in college football this year for an NBA title for the Mavs. Yep. Same for a surprising Stanley Cup for the Stars.

And, I'd sit through back-to-back 0-12 football seasons if the Rangers could win just one World Series. So, if you think I'm pretty much a one-trick sports pony, you'd be wrong.

In fact, here's a quick, current ranking of pro teams, in terms of how I root:

1. Texas Rangers

2. Dallas Stars

3. Dallas Mavericks

4. Dallas Cowboys

5. L.A. Clippers

6. N.Y. Jets/Tennessee Titans (like them both)

7. L.A. Dodgers/N.Y Mets (like them both)