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Jones Soda has teamed up with LOL CATS

Blog Notes

Please note that I've made a few changes to ol' Media Sluts. I added my Twitter feed to the right-hand column and also a feed from Entertainment Weekly so you get all the latest Lost stuff ASAP. I'll still post Lost spoilers (and hopefully my Twitter friend Lola will, too!)

Feel free to send money or alcohol... it doesn't take much to keep me happy.

Lost Recap

Click Here to read the latest Lost recap

Here's How You Do It

When there are a jillion different programs on TV and you want to watch them all, this is how it's done. Rookies... take note:

Program the Tivo for Moment of Truth while watching Survivor live. Immediately after you finish watching Survivor, begin watching MOT. Whiz thru boring parts and commercials. You will be done before Idol is finished airing, at which point, flip the channel to AI and see who gets the boot.

Ta da! Mission accomplished. If you don't own Tivo or have a DVR, you suck.

Don't Eat This Crap

Worst Fast Food Meal: McDonald's Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips with creamy ranch sauce. Chicken sounds healthy, but not at 870 calories.

Worst Drink: Jamba Juice Chocolate Moo'd Power Smoothie. With 166 grams of sugar, you could have had eight servings of Ben & Jerry's.

Worst Supermarket Meal: Pepperidge Farm Roasted Chicken Pot Pie. One pie packs 64 grams of fat.

Worst "Healthy" Burger: Ruby Tuesday Bella Turkey Burger. With 1,145 calories, not a very healthy choice.

Worst Airport Snack: Cinnabon Classic Cinnamon Roll. Packed with 813 hot gooey calories and 5 grams of trans fats.

Worst Kids' Meal: Macaroni Grill Double Macaroni 'n Cheese. With 62 fat grams, it's the equivalent of 1.5 full boxes of Kraft Mac 'n Cheese.

Worst Salad: On the Border Grande Taco Salad with Taco Beef. A salad with 102 grams of fat and 2,410 mg of sodium.

Worst Dessert: Chili's Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream. At 1,600 calories, it's like eating the caloric equivalent of three Big Macs.

Idol Thoughts?

Anyone watching? Anyone care? I've been kinda, sorta paying attention. My pick for bottom dwellers tonight: Ramiele, Kristy Lee, Jason.

Note to Idol producers: PLEASE don't make the bottom dwellers sing again. Isn't the whole idea behind them being in the bottom is because we don't want to keep hearing them? Why not feature repeat performances of the top vote getters instead?

Van Halen Update

Newly rescheduled tour dates:

Van Halen's spring tour dates:
Apr 19: Las Vegas (Mandalay Bay Events Center)
Apr 22: Cincinnati (U.S. Bank Arena)
Apr 24: Dallas (American Airlines Center)
Apr 26: St Louis (Scottrade Center)
Apr 28: Milwaukee (Bradley Center)
Apr 30: Pittsburgh (Mellon Arena)
May 02: Charlottesville, Va. (John Paul Jones Arena)
May 05: Raleigh, N.C. (RBC Center)
May 07: Columbus, Ohio (Schottenstein Center)
May 09: Atlantic City, (N.J. Boardwalk Hall)
May 11: Duluth, Ga. (Gwinnett Arena)
May 13: East Rutherford, N.J. (Izod Center)
May 15: Baltimore, Md. (1st Mariner Arena)
May 18: Hershey, Pa. (Giant Center)
May 20: Uncasville, Conn. (Mohegan Sun Arena)
May 23: New York (Madison Square Garden)
May 25: Providence, R.I. (Dunkin Donuts Center)
May 28: Manchester, N.H. (Verizon Wireless Arena)
May 30: Chicago (Allstate Arena)
June 2: Grand Rapids, Mich. (Van Andel Arena)

Pickler Alert

Kelly Pickler is performing on Idol tonight. Just thought y'all should know.

Lost Scoop

From Ausiello:

So let's get started: An upcoming, post-strike episode will feature the same male character at different ages, described as "sweet, shy, tentative and smart" at 5 and "angry, a little nerdy, defiant and rebellious" at 16. Also, said male character has green eyes, a fact you might not find significant, unless you were this guy. The same episode also features a redheaded teenaged girl who is "emotional, prone to dramatic gestures, and passionately in love." Who are we talking about here?

The easy answer is: Duh, it's Ben and Annie, his childhood pal. But! Conflicting intel says these characters appear in a Locke-centric episode, which is confusing. To me, Locke's backstory seems pretty much wrapped up, after having had Sawyer off his organ-stealing daddy. I can't imagine that we're going to whoosh back into mini-Locke's childhood angst at this juncture.

So I have three theories, in descending order of probability:

Theory No. 1: My mole is wrong and we'll finally see the love story of Ben and Annie. When we last saw Annie, she was shaping up to be Joey to Ben's Dawson. After all, The Island is nothing more than an ominous, creepy Capeside, right? Since Annie no longer seems to be alive and kicking and/or on The Island, we'll find out what happened to her. Did she die in The Purge? Did she catch the first submarine away from Ben the first time he mentioned that she belonged to him? Did she find her Pacey? Did she — gasp! — get pregnant?

Theory No. 2: Locke's next ep is an island-based flashback, in which we'll see Locke's followers travel to The Temple to join the in-hiding Others (what the heck is The Temple anyway?). It's there that we'll meet these spunky teens, who will be the subjects of rigorous testing (cough, brainwashing). Remember Carl being "tested" for his response to vivid imagery and proselytizing in the infamous Room 23? Kinda like that. As for the boy's 5-year-old self, I'm going with an acid-flashback-within-a-narrative-flashback.

Theory No. 3: I'm totally wrong and we'll see a tiny, bald Locke as a child. Which I would totally hate.

What do you think? Who are these people? Which theory would you like to see come true? Or, if you have one of your own, sock it to me!

And in more scoop...
Episode 4.08: Meet Kevin Johnson (Michael-centric) [Last episode completed before the writers' strike]
Airdate: March 20, 2008

The current print edition of TV Guide (March 10-16) drops some spoilers regarding what's to come in Lost's late season: we may learn in the March 20 episode (4.08, Meet Kevin Johnson) whether Michael ever reached the mainland, if he's come back to rescue the other survivors, whether he went home.

Walt does appear in episode eight, but 100-percent-trustworthy sources tell me that during his blink-of-an-eye appearance, "He is exactly the size that a nine-year-old should be."

And a bit more...
Cuse and Lindelof reveal: Ben was telling a truth and a lie [about Widmore]. He is behind the freighter, but he is not there for the reason that Ben says he is. We'll know by the end of season four.

TV Guide drops some spoilers regarding what's to come in Lost's late season: we'll learn why Sayid is Ben's paid assassin, why Jack has descended into a tormented diet of pills and booze, this season ends with the O6 getting off the Island, the Jack-Kate situation remains unresolved and probably will be for a while, we haven't seen the last of Kate-Sawyer this season -- not by a long shot, it's about how many years elapsed between what we're watching on the Island and the FF's, there are some growth issues when you go on or off the island.

Stop It!

Can anyone explain to me why parents allow their pre-teen girls to parade around like they are 21 years old?

Yesterday I was shopping and these 2 girls, who couldn't have been more than 9, were sporting full faces of makeup (applied quite expertly, I must say... not like little girls playing dress-up), fancy velour warm-up suits with sparkly words printed across their little tushies, hair done up like they were going to homecoming and both texting and chatting on pink bejeweled cellphones.

What the fuck, people!!! Your CHILD is 9 years old. Why in the hell do they need to be wearing makeup and talking on cellphones? What in the world are you thinking? Stop it already! It's hard enough to install a sense of responsibility in your child as it is these days. Then you have these idiotic parents who think handing their 9 year old daughters a cellphone and letting them parade around like hussies is perfectly okay.

Sigh....

Dream Come True

Sheryl Crow says she'll soon be singing with Fleetwood Mac, a move sure to give new life to the classic rock band, which hasn't toured in several years.

"I don't want to make any official announcements, but I will say that we definitely have plans for collaborating in the future, and we'll see what happens," Crow told the AOL music Web site Spinner.com in a story posted Thursday. The 46-year-old singer didn't give a date, but said it could happen next year.

Lost 4.07 Recap

Courtesy of EW:
Read it here

Guitar Hero

When I grow up, this is what I want to achieve....

16-year-old Chris Chike scored a 97% on the Expert level "Guitar Hero III" in New York yesterday -- putting him into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Lost Preview & Tidbits

Episode 4.07: Ji Yeon (Sun/Jin-centric)
Airdate: March 13, 2008

Sun has only three weeks to get off the Island or she'll croak. And here's a curious thought: Is that three weeks in Island time or real-world time? We now know that time on the Island moves more slowly than elsewhere. So, is a Lost-island pregnancy still nine months? Or is it longer? Or could it even be shorter because her body is on real-world time even though her mind is perceiving Island time? [...] Did you hear there's a funeral this week?

Juliet is forced to reveal some startling news to Jin when Sun threatens to move to Locke's camp. Meanwhile, Sayid and Desmond begin to get an idea of the freighter crew's mission when they meet the ship's Captain.

spoiler goodies
I have it on good authority that Nestor Carbonell has inked a deal to reprise his role as ageless island dweller Richard in at least one of this season's final five episodes. In confirming the news, exec producer Carlton Cuse (i.e., the good authority I spoke of earlier) described the former Cane thesp as "a tremendous actor" whose "return will lead to some very interesting revelations."

I need to know who is on that boat!
Well, there’s Sayid and Desmond (1996 and 2004 editions) and the corpse of Fisher Stevens and some guy named Keamey… and I know that’s not who you mean, but the identity of Ben’s boat buddy is one scoop that Team Darlton is not letting slip, at least not until tomorrow night. In the meantime, try this Lost head-scratcher on for size: I have it on good authority that an upcoming, post-strike episode features both a pair of Arabic-speaking, horseback-riding Bedouins and a luxury doorman of British extraction. Without knowing whether it’s a flashback or flash-forward, whose episode could that be? I had an extra bowl of crazy this morning, so I’m going with a consciousness-imploding guess: Charles Widmore, who is: A) a shadowy figure who has been coming into focus in recent weeks, B) a rich British dude and C) perhaps interested in those polar bear skeletons Charlotte found in the deserts of Tunisia, no?

You know that series-regular death I alluded to a few weeks back? Well, tomorrow night's the night! But riddle me this, Lost fans: When is a death not a death, but a brand-new mystery all its own? Meanwhile, I was going to close this week's column by revealing the identity of the remaining members of Lost's super-cool clique, the Oceanic Six, but most of you seem to have it already figured out:
*o* *a* *** **e **l* **** *i***.

Sums It Up

I think this picture sums things up rather well, don't you?

LOST Preview 4.06

Episode 4.06: The Other Woman (Juliet-centric)
Airdate: March 6, 2008

The others have a therapist. And we find out she was married to Goodwin. Daniel and Charlotte have taken the gas masks and left everyone else to make their way to the new hatch.

Juliet's past comes back to haunt her (and a few others) when someone she would rather not see again resurfaces with orders to foil Charlotte and Faraday's mission. At the same time, Ben makes an intriguing offer to Locke that could spell even more trouble for the so-called rescue team.

Juliet's upcoming flashback is entirely located on the Island. And yet it guest stars Alan Dale as Charles Widmore. She's going on a little field trip to the Orchid Station. As in the station unveiled this summer at Comic-Con, with the "highly volatile and potentially dangerous" research-and them creepy numbered bunnies. I'm also hearing something about a field of skeletons... I'm told she's the one who initiates the kiss with Jack.

The flashback features a look at Juliet's history on the Island, including her reaction to the death of her lovah Goodwin at the hands of Ana-Lucia.

How Many Colors Do You Know?

37

How Many Do YOU Know?

51

Whoa!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lost is blowing my mind!
Read the EW recap by Clicking Here

Idol Chatter

Anyone watching? I am bored to tears with the girls. The only chick that excites me is Carly Smithson.

Lost: 4.05 Preview

Episode 4.05: The Constant (Desmond-centric)
Airdate: February 28, 2008

Sayid and Desmond hit a bit of turbulence on the way to the freighter, which causes Desmond to experience some unexpected side effects. Guest starring are Jeremy Davies as Daniel Faraday, Rebecca Mader as Charlotte, Jeff Fahey as Frank Lapidus, Alan Dale as Charles Widmore, Sonya Walger as Penelope "Penny" Widmore, Graham McTavish as sergeant, Darren Keefe as Billy, Edward Conery as auctioneer, Marc Vann as doctor, Fisher Stevens as George Minkowski, Kevin Durand as Keamy and Anthony Azizi as Omar.

And, Click Here to read Doc Jensen's latest for tonight's eppy!

Lost 4.04 Recap

Hey LOST addicts.... head on over to EW to read the latest RECAP

And in additional LOST news....

Lost produced eight episodes before the strike. Five new eps are being produced now. ABC may only run seven in a row with this batch (instead of eight) since the seventh ep ends in a cliffhanger, then we'll get six more starting April 24. Either way, we get 13 episodes in all.

Five fresh episodes of Lost return April 24 in a new time slot, at 10 p.m.

Mind-Blowing LOST Scoop

Check out what EW has to say about Tonight's Episode

SNL Best Cast Member

It's like a warm-up for March Madness, except it's the best-of SNL cast members. Cool!

Who Will You Vote For?

Apple Soundtrack

I can't help but think there's something wrong with my computer when I listen to this. It all sounds so..... so..... familiar. Yes!

Click Here To Listen

I MUST Have This!

OMG! I absolutely must have this table. I will hunt it down and find it. Save my pennies and buy it. I don't care what it takes. This is the most awesome idea ever! Well, at least in terms of coffee tables and managing large quantities magazines.

Rock This Way......

Hey Guitar Hero fans.... good news is afoot!

"Guitar Hero: Aerosmith" will arrive in stores this summer. The game will feature about 30 Aerosmith songs as well as others from various acts that have opened for the band.

Note to self: stock up on Jack, scarves and lycra pants.

Lost Recap 4.03

Head over to EW and read the Recap

Lunch Meat, Anyone?

Being in the grocery biz makes me a bit geeky on occasion. Does that mean I'm the only one who would love to own this Mortadella rug?

Lost 4.03

Episode 4.03: The Economist (Sayid-centric)

A secret room that may reveal a thing or two about Ben Linus. An understated piece of jewelry that is bound to reappear. An off island alliance that is going to stun and shock you.

The previews promised another Oceanic Six reveal next week, but we will also learn about another major main character who's out in the world in the future, who doesn't fall under that banner.

In the Island's big game of capture the flag, Kate gets tagged out by the other team and sent to "jail." Lucky for her, she's in good with the jailer...

john.he.is.

Take a look-see at this......
You Tube

Brief Lost Update

With the writer's strike essentially resolved, looks like we'll get 5 more episodes of LOST. Yippee!

Real World News

From Reality Blurred:

Before the 20th season of The Real World debuts, MTV will air an awards show and roast of its first reality show. “The Real World Awards Bash: Roast ‘Em and Toast ‘Em” will air March 29 and will feature cast members from all 20 seasons, some of whom will receive awards following a viewer vote online.

The show will be both “a blow-out festivity of hijinks, hilarity and high-drama” and “will focus on how ‘The Real World’ influenced pop culture and created a trend in reality programming. Retrospective packages will highlight the funniest and most dramatic moments and show how the series has brought attention to socially- important causes, including AIDS, racism, homophobia, addiction, abortion and eating disorders,” according to an MTV press release.

Sounds intriguing but most likely the people I'd really be interested in seeing and getting updates on are not going to participate. It'll probably just be the normal reality whores..... sigh...

LOST 4.02 RECAP

Click Here For EW Recap

Fascinating

Slogging through the blogs today, I stumbled across the following excerpts from a guy who is a caricaturist. He tries to capture their image without writing anything. I think he's pretty accurate!


On McCain: "His jaw gives him away...it's an anger barometer. During debates when he's being challenged by an opponent, he bites down hard, and you know what he really wants to do is go to the podium next door and smack somebody. ... He's got a head like a clenched fist, and it expands with every passing year. ... His small, dark eyes are watchful and wary. Whether he's smiling or talking he bares his teeth; they're choppers really, and they flash with metal. They look like weapons. His skin isn’t skin so much as hide."

On Mitt: "Mitt Romney is both the easiest and the hardest of the candidates to caricature. ... He seems less like an individual person than a 'type' of person. He's what central casting might come up with for the game show host type or the Ward Cleaverish 50's dad type. ... Because of the heavy ridge of his brow and his deep-set eyes, it's tough to even see his eyes, much less find a twinkle in them. But his hair sparkles. That's what we end up making eye contact with. It's off-putting rather than inviting."

On Obama: "There's a messianic aura about him. ... That air of destiny really registers all across his face and in his body language as well. He shines. Light literally bounces off the guy from everywhere ... And yet for all of the surface appeal of him, I'm drawn to the unsmiling images of him, where he has his head tipped back with an almost aristocratic bearing. Seems very telling somehow. As a work in progress he's completely fascinating to watch and to draw."

On Hillary: "It seems to fit that Clinton's cheeks are her most prominent features. Cheeks aren't exactly the windows to the soul, but Hillary Clinton's not exactly a 'peek inside my soul' kind of person, anyway. ... Her round facial features seem to balance on top of one another, and along the same lines her head seems to balance on top of her narrow shoulders like a boulder on a pyramid. I find it really interesting that this graphic profile that she cuts---of all of these elements in precarious alignment---is such a perfect metaphor for her political balancing act."

Busy Night

The 16th season of Survivor premieres tonight at 8pm. Fans vs. Favorites. Early talk promises romance and many blindsides. Hmmmm... intriguing!

Then, more importantly, LOST is on at 9pm. Scroll down a bit and you'll see a post which has some info about tonight's eppy.

I Have Made My Decision

I kept waffling between Obama and Clinton. Who to pick? How to vote? But then I ran across this photo today and I believe my mind has finally been made up.

Any guy whose grandma is a chicken lover has definitely got my vote!!!!

Sawyer calls me Hawking

Ever wanted your very own nickname, courtesy of Sawyer? Click below....
Nickname Generator

Fans v. Favorites

The next reincarnation of Survivor debuts (tomorrow) Thursday night at 8pm.

Best Video

I stumbled across this while reading another blog. This video is probably one of the best ones I've seen in awhile. Check it!

Grand Central Freeze

Twitter

Anyone Twittering these days? It's an interesting concept. I added a link to the right column if you care to follow my Twitters. I'm pretty boring, so don't get too excited.

Lost Goodies

So.... did last night's episode answer any questions or just create more confusion and more questions? Who ARE the Oceanic 6? Hurley, Kate, Jack and ??????? What did Hurley mean when he told Jack "not to worry.... I won't tell".

And, the ever-popular EW Recap

Here's some tidbits about next week's episode:
4.02 Confirmed Dead ("Not Penny's Boat" people-centric)
Airdate: February 7, 2008

But the biggest mystery hanging over Lost's fourth season, beyond who makes it off the island, is how rescue-friendly those freighter folk will turn out to be. Could the quirky quartet -- Fahey, Davis, Rebecca Mader, Ken Leung -- win up making Others leader Ben look downright cuddly? Expect the February 7 episode to shed light on the gang's true mission.

The survivors begin to question the intentions of their supposed rescuers when four strangers arrive on the island. Guest starring are Ken Leung as Miles, Jeremy Davies as Daniel Faraday, Rebecca Mader as Charlotte, Jeff Fahey as Frank Lapidus, Mira Furlan as Danielle Rousseau, Tania Raymonde as Alex, Blake Bashoff as Karl, Marsha Thomason as Naomi, Lance Reddick as Matthew Abaddon, Jill Kuramoto as female anchor, Necar Zadegan as translator, Azure McCall as Mrs. Gardner and Kanayo Chiemelu as African/Tunisian man

ONE MORE DAY!!!!!!

TWO MORE DAYS!

Must See!

Awesome recap of Lost seasons 1 through 3. Will get you up to date in just 8:15. Funny, too!

Lost Recap

You're Fired!

From RealityBlurred:

The boardroom segment of The Apprentice has always been its most dramatic part, especially when the contestants verbally latch on to each other’s necks and claw until there’s just a bloody stump remaining. It’s where everyone is held accountable for their behavior during the task, and where Donald Trump makes some irrational decision and then justifies it by saying “I had no choice” over and over again.

But the celebrities who populate the boardroom on The Apprentice 7 are unwilling or incapable of doing what they’re supposed to do, namely point fingers and blame each other. They won’t even answer questions. That’s a huge problem, and it’s increasingly left Donald Trump to make most of the celebrities’ arguments for them and to try to start fights. (Up until last night, he’s also fired the quietest, least-confrontational people.) This also explains why the producers cast Omarosa and Piers Morgan, two NBC reality stars; they know what their job is and what the show is all about, and don’t hesitate to attack when it’s time to attack.

The celebrities’ demure nature led to the most baffling boardroom ever last night, as Donald Trump fired Gene Simmons for being, well, Gene Simmons. First, Gene—who was assigned to lead the women’s team, and announced that he was a “benevolent dictator”—repeatedly dissed the episode’s sponsor, Kodak, by saying its executives made the wrong decision. Earlier, he said they didn’t even understand their own company. “They’re wrong. To be quite frank, the executives themselves may not understand what Kodak needs. I’m arrogant and I certainly have the expertise to know what Kodak does need. I am pretty damn good,” he said with his flat, monotone voice.

In the boardroom, Gene Simmons refused to bring Nely Galan back with him, even though she irritated the Kodak executives and Trump was practically begging Gene to let him fire her. Instead, Gene picked Omarosa and Jennie Finch, neither of whom did anything wrong during the task. “Oh, Gene. I don’t get it,” Trump whined when he chose Omarosa. “She’s not the reason that you lost.”

Talking to Gene Simmons—whose impossibly calm demeanor is half of the fun of watching him spout ridiculous, obnoxious, yet sometimes astute things—Donald Trump’s head nearly spun off his shoulders, probably because he knew that firing Gene meant decreasing the show’s entertainment value by about 25 percent. “Gene, what am I going to do? You brought back two people that I practically told you you shouldn’t bring back. What the hell did I do? You’re so independent; you’re so tough,” Trump said. Gene Simmons may have weird hair like Donald Trump, but he lacks the same aggressiveness, and Trump fired him.

Link to original post

Bwah!

Best Picture

I've been told that No Country For Old Men, Sweeney Todd and There Will Be Blood are three of the five nominated pictures nominated for the big Oscar.

Bloody list!

LOST Goodies

From EW:

'Lost': Doc Jensen Goes Fourth!
Season 4 premieres Jan. 31 -- but before we return to The Island, our expert already has some Web-inspired theories cooking
By Jeff Jensen

The wait is almost over. The fourth season of our mutual fixation Lost is almost upon us after a long, restorative, and well-negotiated break. My crazy-tank has been topped off, and I've got ideas to burn...though upon completing the first draft of the text you're about to read, I realized that the Doc Jensen cogs had acquired some crust and rust during the layoff. That isn't all bad for me. I recently visited a Lost fansite and saw a puzzling, preposterous image that I hadn't seen or thought about in many mad moons: the four-toed statue. I found myself intrigued all over again. Time may have dulled my Lost mind, but not my interest.

Of course, the anticipatory excitement of season 4 is undercut with bittersweet reality. Lost was only able to finish half of its 16-episode season before the Writers Guild of America went on strike. According to sources, if Lost can't resume work by Jan. 31 (the same date the new season premieres), it will start becoming logistically impossible to produce a full season of shows. (My understanding is that this goes for most every other scripted series on TV, too.) The situation will become more complicated if the strike pushes into the spring and postpones the back half of the season altogether. Last May, when ABC and the producers of Lost announced that the series would end after three more seasons, they agreed to only make 16 episodes during each of those years. The logical implication would seem to be this: ABC can't just simply increase the size of 2009's 16-episode pod in order to make up for a strike-shortened season — not without reworking the terms of the pact they hammered out earlier this year. And so, once again, another season of Lost will come with the distraction of sideshow drama concerning the future of the series itself.

DOC JENSEN'S FIVE FAVORITE NOT-NECESSARILY-MAJOR UNRESOLVED LOST MYSTERIES THAT I HOPE MIGHT GET LESS UNRESOLVED OVER THE COURSE OF SEASON 4, BUT IF THEY DON'T, THAT'S OKAY, BECAUSE LIKE I SAID, THEY'RE RELATIVELY MINOR UNRESOLVED MYSTERIES

I'm just saying, it would be neat to learn more about:

1. The four-toed statue
2. The whispers
3. The pile of unclaimed Pearl Station diaries
4. Desmond's inability to escape The Island after the castaways relieved him of button-pushing duty
5. Why Mr. Friendly (may he rest in fake-bearded peace) told Kate, ''You're not my type.''


Also.... CLICK HERE to read Dan Snierson's interview with Matthew Fox. Excellent!

For The Cat With Everything

Kitty Wigs

Bose, Where Have You Been All My Life?

Got the Bose (in-ear) headphones for Christmas. Why the hell did I wait so long to get them? Damn they are awesome!

Anybody Watching?

Celebrity Apprentice debuts tonight at 8pm. I'm actually somewhat intrigued by the notion Gene Simmons will be one of the participants. I've enjoyed his reality show and he does seem to possess a decent amount of business sense.

Time will tell.

You Tube

Ever wonder what Tetris would be like if it used humans instead of puzzle pieces?

Skin it!

Protection with Style

LOST Alert!!!

Lost moves to Thursdays at 9 p.m. starting Jan. 31.

Mark your calendars NOW.... before you forget!!!!!!

Dan Fogelberg R.I.P.

"Same Old Lang Syne" won't be the same this year.

The U.S. of Reruns

We live in a country with corporations so greedy, that we're watching reruns and reality TV. And could be for a year. Has anyone thought about what this actually means?

Reality Line-Up

Print & save, folks! With the writer's strike still not settled, plan on watching a lot of reality television!! Get your Tivo loaded up!

Project Runway 4 [Bravo, Nov. 14, Wednesdays at 10]
Nimrod Nation [Sundance Channel, Nov. 26, Mondays at 9]
Real Housewives of Orange County [Bravo, Nov. 27, Tuesdays at 10]
Intervention [A&E, Dec. 3, Mondays at 9]
The Girls Next Door [E!, Dec. 9, Sundays at 10]
Snoop Dogg’s Father Hood [E!, Dec. 9, Sundays at 10:30]
Clash of the Choirs [NBC, Dec. 17 to 20 at 8]
The Biggest Loser 5 [NBC, Jan. 1, Tuesdays at 8]
The Apprentice 7 [NBC, Jan. 3, Thursdays at 9]
Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann [ABC, Jan. 7, Mondays at 8]
Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew [VH1, Jan. 10, Thursdays]
Trading Spaces [TLC, early January]
Make Me a Supermodel [Bravo, January]
American Idol 7 [FOX, Jan. 15, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8]
Big Brother 9 [CBS, late Jan./early Feb.] news
Survivor 16 [CBS, early Feb.]
Transamerican Love Story [Logo, February
When Women Rule the World [FOX, March 3, Mondays at 8]
Hell’s Kitchen 4 [FOX, April 1, Tuesdays at 9]

Winter/spring debuts

America’s Next Top Model 10 [The CW]
American Gladiators [NBC]
Randy Jackson Presents America’s Best Dance Crew [MTV]
Beauty and the Geek 4 [The CW]
Baby Borrowers [NBC]
The Bachelor 12 [ABC]
Can You Duet? [CMT]
Farmer Wants a Wife [The CW]
My Dad is Better Than Your Dad [NBC]
Oprah’s Big Give [ABC]
Pussycat Dolls 2: Girlicious [The CW]
Supernanny [ABC]
Wife Swap [ABC]

Paste Names Top 50 Films of 2007

I agree with the ones I've seen (*), but man - I have a lot of catching up to do! How many have you seen, and do you agree? (Oh, and Superbad is way better than Knocked Up.)

1. Juno [Jason Reitman]
2. Once [John Carney]
3. Eastern Promises [David Cronenberg]
4. Away From Her [Sarah Polley]
5. Margot at the Wedding [Noah Baumbach]
*6. Michael Clayton [Tony Gilroy]
7. The Wind That Shakes the Barley [Ken Loach]
*8. No Country for Old Men [Joel and Ethan Coen]
9. The Kite Runner [Marc Forster]
10. Syndromes and a Century [Apichatpong "Joe" Weerasethakul]
11. Ratatouille [Brad Bird]
12. Ten Canoes [Rolf de Heer/Peter Djigirr]
13. Great World of Sound [Craig Zobel]
14. Ghosts of Cité Soleil [Asger Leth/Milos Loncarevic]
15. Offside [Jafar Panahi]
16. My Kid Could Paint That [Amir Bar-Lev]
17. 2 Days in Paris [Julie Delpy]
18. Waitress [Adrienne Shelly]
19. Manufactured Landscapes [Jennifer Baichwal]
20. The King of Kong [Seth Gordon]
21. Sunshine [Danny Boyle]
22. This is England [Shane Meadows]
*23. Knocked Up [Judd Apatow]
24. Hanna Takes the Stairs [Joe Swanberg]
25. Bella [Alejandro Gomez Monteverde]
26. The Darjeeling Limited [Wes Anderson]
*27. Grindhouse [Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez]
28. Paris, Je T'aime [Various Directors]
29. God Grew Tired of Us [Christopher Dillon Quinn]
30. No End in Sight [Charles Ferguson]
31. The Bourne Ultimatum [Paul Greengrass]
32. Hot Fuzz [Edgar Wright]
33. 3:10 to Yuma [James Mangold]
34. Year of the Dog [Mike White]
35. The Simpsons Movie [David Silverman]
*36. Hairspray [Adam Shankman]
37. Sicko [Michael Moore]
38. Rescue Dawn [Werner Herzog]
39. The Short Life of José Antonio Guitierrez [Heidi Specogna]
40. Forever [Heddy Honigmann]
41. Persepolis [Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud]
42. Talk to Me [Kasi Lemmons]
43. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead [Sidney Lumet]
*44. Superbad [Greg Mottola]
*45. Zodiac [David Fincher]
46. The Savages [Tamara Jenkins]
47. Rocket Science [Jeffrey Blitz]
48. The Signal [David Bruckner, Dan Bush, Jacob Gentry]
49. The Lookout [Scott Frank]
50. American Gangster [Ridley Scott]

IFC Awards

It's not even December, and the Independent Spirit Award nominations are out.

BEST FEATURE

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
I'm Not There
Juno
A Mighty Heart
Paranoid Park

BEST DIRECTOR

Todd Haynes
I'm Not There

Tamara Jenkins
The Savages

Jason Reitman
Juno

Julian Schnabel
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Gus Van Sant
Paranoid Park


BEST FEMALE LEAD

Angelina Jolie
A Mighty Heart

Sienna Miller
Interview

Ellen Page
Juno

Parker Posey
Broken English

Tang Wei
Lust, Caution

BEST MALE LEAD

Pedro Castaneda
August Evening

Don Cheadle
Talk To Me

Philip Seymour Hoffman
The Savages

Frank Langella
Starting Out in the Evening

Tony Leung
Lust, Caution

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Cate Blanchett
I'm Not There

Anna Kendrick
Rocket Science

Jennifer Jason Leigh
Margot at the Wedding

Tamara Podemski
Four Sheets to the Wind

Marisa Tomei
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

Chiwetel Ejiofor
Talk To Me

Marcus Carl Franklin
I'm Not There

Kene Holliday
Great World of Sound

Irrfan Khan
The Namesake

Steve Zahn
Rescue Dawn

Paste Names Top 100 Albums of 2007

Two of my favorites of the year are #100 and #1. Funny, huh?

100. Stars – In Our Bedroom After The War
99. The Fiery Furnaces - Widow City
98. Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond
97. Marissa Nadler - Song III: Bird on the Water
96. Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
95. The Good, The Bad & The Queen - The Good, The Bad & The Queen
94. Suzanne Vega - Beauty & Crime
93. Lori McKenna - Unglamorous
92. Jesse Sykes – Like, Lust & the Open Halls of the Soul
91. The Fratellis - Costello Music
90. Devendra Banhart - Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
89. Anat Cohen - Noir
88. Do Make Say Think - You, You're A History In Rust
87. White Rabbits – Fort Nightly
86. Ruthie Foster - The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster
85. Menomena - Friend and Foe
84. Liars - Liars
83. Deerhunter - Cryptograms
82. Dan Deacon - Spiderman of the Rings
81. Art Brut - It's A Bit Complicated
80. Akron/Family - Love Is Simple
79. Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity
78. The New Pornographers - Challengers
77. Jeremy Fisher - Goodbye Blue Monday
76. Okkervil River - The Stage Names
75. Great Lake Swimmers - Ongiara
74. Beirut - The Flying Club Cup
73. Warm In The Wake - American Prehistoric
72. Bettye Lavette - Scene Of The Crime
71. Josh Rouse - Country Mouse City House
70. Ween - La Cucaracha
69. Bat For Lashes - Fur & Gold
68. Office - A Night At The Ritz
67. St. Vincent - Marry Me
66. Apples In Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder
65. Caribou - Andorra
64. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
63. Explosions In The Sky - All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone
62. Joseph Arthur - Let's Just Be
61. Prince - Planet Earth
60. The Broken West - I Can't Go On I'll Go On
59. Imperial Teen - The Hair The TV The Baby & The Band
58. Romantica - America
57. The Clientele - God Save The Clientele
56. Kate Nash - Made of Bricks
55. Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover
54. Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew - Spirit If...
53. Fionn Regan - The End Of History
52. Thurston Moore - Trees Outside the Academy
51. The Frames - The Cost
50. Battles - Mirrored
49. Carolina Chocolate Drops - Dona Got A Ramblin’ Mind
48. The Weakerthans - Reunion Tour
47. Linda Thompson - Versatile Heart
46. Justice - †
45. Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings - 100 Days, 100 Nights
44. Norah Jones - Not Too Late
43. The Everybodyfields - Nothing Is Okay
42. Lifesavas - Gutterfly
41. Brandi Carlile - The Story
40. Damien Dempsey - To Hell Or Barbados
39. The Perishers - Victorious
38. Olof Arnalds - Vid Og Vid
37. Eleni Mandell - The Miracle Of Five
36. Joe Henry - Civilians
35. Peter Bjorn & John - Writer's Block
34. Bright Eyes - Cassadaga
33. PJ Harvey - White Chalk
32. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
31. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
30. Björk - Volta
29. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
28. Mary Gauthier - Between Daylight and Dark
27. Derek Webb - The Ringing Bell
26. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
25. Over The Rhine - The Trumpet Child
24. Patty Griffin - Children Running Through
23. Black Lips - Good Bad Not Evil
22. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
21. Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
20. Blonde Redhead - 23
19. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - Living with the Living
18. Miranda Lambert - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
17. Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
16. Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
15. Kanye West - Graduation
14. Loney, Dear - Loney, Noir
13. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
12. Avett Brothers - Emotionalism
11. Radiohead - In Rainbows
10. Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
09. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
08. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
07. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
06. M.I.A. - Kala
05. Feist - The Reminder
04. The White Stripes - Icky Thump
03. Bruce Springsteen - Magic
02. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
01. The National - Boxer

I have 45 of them. Got some listening to do, baby!

The Moment of Truth

New FOX reality show... sure to spark alotta talk around the watercoolers!

Fox’s version works like this: Before the show is taped, a contestant is given a polygraph test and asked 75 questions. Samples include: “Do you really care about the starving children in Africa?” “Are you sexually attracted to one of your wife’s friends?” “Do fat people repulse you?” and “Do you think you’ll still be with your husband five years from now?” The contestant’s responses are determined to be truthful or untruthful by a certified polygraph examiner, but the contestant is not told the results. Within a couple of days after the test, the contestant appears on the show, where he is again asked 21 of their previous questions before a live audience, including family and friends.

All the player has to do to win, goes the pitch, is tell the truth. If his answer matches what the polygraph says is true, he advances to the next round. The top prize is $500,000. The contestant can stop at any time, but once a question is asked, he must answer.

“Truth” premieres Jan. 23.

Let Me Explain

First off, my apologies to anyone who happens to swing by here on any sort of regular basis. I am been incredibly busy at work and at home. Earlier this year I was juggling two full-times jobs. The madness has continued due to my company investing like $5 million dollars into remodeling and improving one of our stores. Since I am in Marketing, that means I get to work like 80 hours a week. Sometimes more.

I have shows on my Tivo from like August that I have not had time to watch. And my ability to surf the web and come up with interesting nuggets to share.... well that spare time has evaporated from my life.

I'm going on a little vacation soon and once I return, life should return to some sense of normalcy. I say that with much trepidation, because just as soon as I think things will settle down, another major project comes hurtling at me at warp speed.

But with any luck, regular posting will resume very soon. I promise!

Blow My Mind

You MUST watch this: Cheney's Law

I watched it in a random moment of insomnia last night, so I hope to catch it again when I'm a lot more conscious. It completely blew my mind the shit that happened in the days following 9/11. And really, continues to happen. We don't have a President, we have a puppet ran by dictators.

Why Yes, I Am Bi-Platform, Thanks For Asking

Friday my new Mac Pro was installed. It goes quite nicely with my 24" LCD widescreen tv (er, I mean monitor....). I also am running Parallels now and that shows up on yet another LCD screen (a measly 17"). How bizarre to be working in the Mac world minute then hear that little dinging noise, scroll to the left and Pow! instantly a member of the PC world.

Frankly, I'm not at all happy about the whole PC world stuff. I hate it. It stinks. It's clunky and stupid. I cant' find anything. My email is now completely different (Outlook now; previously Entourage).

And to add to my already burgeoning desk, yet ANOTHER 17" monitor and additional keyboard, which represents my old Mac G4.

I swear to god it looks like I'm running a surveillance operation in here!! And, I'm going completely blind in the process. Which monitor to watch? Which mouse to use. Oh wait... now it's Control-P, not Command-P. What the hell system am I using again?

Fuck it. I'm going home.

This Made Me Laugh. Out Loud.

Lifted from Socialite's Life:

This one is falling off quicker than Beyonce on a staircase. Details of Pamela Anderson's quickie marriage to the guy she banged to pay off a gambling debt have emerged. This wedding was an elegant affair down to the lack of rings, and Pam having to get married quick because her next shift at the magic show was starting.

The bride wore a white denim miniskirt and calls the groom "scum," and the wedding cake was made of cardboard. Salomon (who wore a dark suit and a black beanie to the ceremony) is infamous as the co-star of the Paris Hilton sex tape. His reputation is so seedy that Anderson announced their union on her blog: "The Adventures of Scum and Pam Have Begun." Former Daily News gossip Marc Malkin reported for E! that wedding planners had to bring in a fake wedding cake because they were given only one-day's notice. The 40 guests enjoyed pigs in a blanket, macaroni and cheese, and tuna and lobster tacos.


Charming. Who would expect less from a woman with a barbed wire tattoo and a vagina that the whole of mankind is familiar with? I can recall being a little girl and dreaming about my wedding day. A day wherein I would wear a cut-off denim miniskirt and link all my hopes and dreams with the guy whose penis was inside Paris Hilton. Someone release the doves, quick! Pam Anderson stole my destiny!

Add Another Whore To The Reality Fire

It’s official: Rock of Love 2 will also star Bret Michaels, whose break-up with Jes made way for a second season.

How convenient......

He is “ready to give reality TV dating another shot after things fizzled with Rock of Love winner Jes,” VH1 says, adding that the cast will get bigger for the second season, and that its debut won’t be far off: “more girls (20, to be exact), more challenges, more turn-ons and more diabeetus in the second season of Rock of Love, which is coming…well, sooner than you might think!” The show will reportedly debut in early 2008.

Rock Of Love

Yes, I'll admit it. My secret addiction is the Rock of Love. The latest news to hit the streets is that Jes and Bret are no longer an item (what? you're kidding me!). This leaves open the possibility that Mr. Michaels would be available for Rock Of Love 2, which is currently casting.

So Much Wrong With This

From RealityBlurred:

A Bunny Ranch brothel worker and HBO Cathouse star says that Jonny Fairplay was drunk and hitting on women backstage before Danny Bonaduce flipped him onto his face.

As a result of his drinking, Rush and Molloy report, “it’s no wonder that Fairplay … landed on his face when Danny tossed him.” Bunny Ranch worker Brooke Taylor says, “Jonny was drinking heavily backstage. He was trying to make out with me and [fellow Ranch-hand] Bunny Love. He tried to put his hand up my dress. He even tried to lick my toe. All the while, he was talking to me about his pregnant girlfriend. Classy.”

Jon Dalton’s pregnant girlfriend is Top Model 4’s Michelle Deighton.

And They Said We Didn't Have A Mold Problem

This is the office I moved into back in March. No one listened to me when I told them the water leak was causing a mold problem. Today they are finally tearing out the walls. The landlord insisted there wasn't a mold problem. What a fucktard!

Fall TV

Does everyone have their Season Passes lined up? I have Survivor, Dancing With The Stars, The Bachelor (yeah... I'm lame), The Office and Dirty Sexy Money all set to record.

What are YOU looking forward to watching this season?

Dear Santa

I want an iPod Touch. Pretty please? I've been really good all year and my current iPod is like 3 years old and I've taken really good care of it and am happy to pass it along to some unfortunate chump who doens't own one yet.

PLEASE!!!!!!

Vegas Here I Come

Woot! I'm going to Vegas! Can. Not. Wait.

Care to join me?

This Made Me Laugh

And that Train Wreck....

Britney.

Sorry folks. But that chick ain't fat. What the hell are people talking about? First they complain that Nicole Richie has an eating disorder and needs to eat something and then when Britney, who is probably a size 2, comes out and looks a little out of shape, they say she's fat? WTF people????!!!

And, from the sounds of it, things are getting pretty interesting in the Spears-Federline custody case. Frankly, neither of those neandrathals deserve to have custody of those innocent children. It's all very, very sad if you ask me. But it still doesn't stop me from wondering what's gonna happen next.

The Juice

So O.J.'s sittin' in jail. Who would have thunk it? I think we've all been waiting like, oh say.... like 14 years or something, for this dude to sit in jail. For something. Anything. And, it almost sounds like those dudes set him up cuz they tape-recorded it and stuff.

It all makes me wonder what the heck Judge Ito is up to these days.....

Hey Losties!

How cool was it that our very favorite Terry O'Quinn won an Emmy last night?

Pathetic Headline of the Day

Study: T-rex could outrun David Beckham

Excuse me, is it a slow news day? Had you forgotten we have men and women DYING in Iraq?

Christmas Idea

If you were wondering what to get me for Christmas, here's an excellent idea:

Work sucks

So now they're hiring a manager for our department. My boss is going to part-time (honestly I think they are slowly phasing her out because she and the prez don't see eye-to-eye), so they need someone to manage the day-to-day shit and deal with strategic planning and budget crap.

Since they've opened up the application process, does this mean I'm SUPPOSED to apply? Is upper-management expecting a qualified person from within to apply (even if secretly they don't want it unless it's a HELL of a lot more money?)

What to do???????????

A Look Back....

So I'm reading this book about the Roosevelt's and the homefront during the war years. Sometimes I have to sit back and think about how much politics have changed in the relatively short time frame of 67 years.

Did you know that FDR did not declare his intention to seek re-election (for his third term)? He let the voters at the Democratic convention nominate him. He never publicly declared he desired a third term.

Did you know that FDR didn't even BEGIN to campaign until October 28th? Just over a week before the country was to vote on the presidency?

I find the above two items completely and utterly amazing; especially given the fact that nowdays, we have people declaring their presidential intentions 2 YEARS before the public will vote for a president.

Sigh... sometimes I wish life could return to simpler times.

From E! :

Carlton Cuse revealed: We aren't changing any of the format of the show. We are just adding the flash forwards as an element. They have made a radio call to a freighter, and there are people on that freighter, and it might be logical to imagine that that storyline will continue... The situation is going to be very intense this year. Charlie wrote on his hand not Penny's boat , and the message he wrote on his hand was very important. It was really funny because the clip at Comic-Con showed Mr. Friendly saying, 'by the time you see this, I'm gonna be dead, but I am telling you it's a shame because whoever is going to come after the Others is going to be a hell of a lot worse than we ever were.' Damon and I were listening to him and sort of nodding our head going, 'That's pretty prophetic.' With Jin and Sun there is a very dynamic situation at work. She's pregnant... the fate of her child, the fate of their marriage, all those questions Damon and I will get to and more this season. Walt will be back. You will see more of Jacob.

Ahh... Lost... how I love you so...

Spoilers:

The [Comic-Con Lost panel] starts off with a clip with Michael Emerson calling the Others a "Rebel Sect."

Also on the clip show "By the time you see this I will be dead," says M.C. Gainey. Voice-over: "The survival of the Island is now at stake." Carlton says Rachel probably won't be on the Island.

Damon and Carlton say don't get too attached to Richard Alpert, because Nestor Carbonell's on CBS' Cane. They announce here that Harold is returning as Michael Dawson, but they tell the questioner they're not talking about how or when he returns.

Carlton says flashbacks and flashforwards are both on the show going forward. "How far forward" and "with whom" are the Q's.

Damon nods furiously [when asked if Jack and Claire will find out they are related].

Damon volunteers this regarding Ben vs. Henry Gale: "They had words."

Carlton, regarding poor crazy Michael, "He took some extreme actions." Michael's story is about the power of the Island to be redemptive. And this won't be a quick pop by Redemption Island; Harold is a series regular. Michael returns early in the fourth season, or so says Damon.

Carlton: "It is our intention to get to Libby's story this year, and we think you will be happy when we finish that." Damon: "There are important things going on in [Danielle's] story, and they have to sync up." They'll do that syncing in this season or next.

Damon: The whole deal with the monster will be definitely answered. Carlton: The monster answer is "not going to be 10 seconds of blank tape."

The promised [Dharma Film] clip is one of the station orientation films, hosted by Marvin Candle under an alias. The footage begins with him getting his makeup done and smoothing down his Dharma labcoat. Bunnies! It's about bunnies! Bunny #15, to be specific. Marvin, who calls himself Dr. Edgar Halifax in this film, identifies it as station six, the Orchid. He says the viewer has probably realized by now that he or she is not working at a mere botanical research unit. He apologizes for making him or her lie to friends and family members about the nature of the work. He mentions something that sounds like "Kasimir effect" and mentions the "unique properties of the Island." Then there's one of Jacob's subliminal messages. It may have been some variation on "as Jacob loves you." Then there's a bunny riot. One of the station's alarms blares, Dr. Halifax/Marvin panics. There's an intercut clip of someone riding a bicycle. The clip is inserted upside-down, and the rider appears to be in the village green of Otherville...And then, amid the chaos (perhaps this is the Incident?), the filmstrip slides off the reel.

Sad Yet Disturbingly Intriguing

Britney Spears' self-arranged photo shoot and tell-all interview with OK! magazine could potentially "kill" her career. According to gossip website TMZ.com, sources claim the singer's behavior during the interview and photo session was "nothing less than a meltdown". During the shoot, the 25-year-old mother-of-two was said to be "completely out of it", and the resulting pictures are "so bad" that publishing them could "kill her career".

The magazine hired two of the best hair and make-up artists in Los Angeles to make Britney look her best, but she refused to let them style her, instead opting for two friends she brought with her to fashion her.

Britney personally called Sara Ivens, the editor-in-chief of the US edition of OK!, last week and said she wanted to do an exclusive interview discussing her divorce from Kevin Federline, her breakdown and her problems with her mother Lynne.

OK! Editor-in-Chief Sarah Ivens said, "OK! Magazine spent a heartbreaking day with Britney Spears and witnessed first-hand an emotional cry for help that will leave you shocked and sad. This week, on newsstands Friday, the truth will be told."

--I need me a copy of that mag!

Disaster In The Making

From Socialite's Life:

Now this is one big, hot mess waiting to happen. And I'd be lying if I didn't say that part of me is so disturbed by the idea of this that I'm secretly dying to watch it. There's a new reality dating series set to hit the U.S. and in the spirit of "Joe Millionaire," the premise is to lead the contestants to believe something very different about the object of their collective affection and then hit them with the truth at the end of the show. Only this time, instead of finding out that Joe isn't rich, it's more along the lines of, "By the way, I have a penis." Originally a UK series, the show was titled, "There's Something about Miriam," and contestants competed in the hopes of dating Miriam, a Mexican 21-year-old model, only to find out in the final episode that Miriam is, in fact, a man. Yikes. Lawyers, on your mark, get set...GO! I have a feeling this is just going to end up a violent, hate-crime filled suing fest with at least one slow-car police chase.

Rick & Steve

This show on Logo is pretty funny. It's about Rick & Steve, who are the happiest gay couple ever. Their friends aren't quite as happy, such as the lesbian couple that goes to Home Depot and fixes things all the time. They are funny because everytime they're driving, they have a pseudo-Melissa Ethridge song playing on the radio called, "I'm a Lesbian." If you've ever been to West Hollywood, you know the "Roses" lady. She is a tiny little Mexican woman who sells roses and advertises her product by calling out, with an incredible rolling rrrrrrr, "rrrrrrrroses???" Anyways, she makes cameo appearances in Rick & Steve, and I think that's great. So this show gets two thumbs up and has been added to TiVo Season Pass.

Advertising

It's a dog eat dog world.

Last week, my client informed us (through Ad Week, not a phone call or meeting) that they were thinking of firing our agency. The technical way to say this is, "We're putting the account into review." So if I haven't been stressed out enough, now I have to spend several months trying to keep this piece of business.

Who cares.

SNL

Maya Rudolph may leave SNL. That would leave, like, two funny people.

Mad Men

This is a new show premiering at 10 on AMC tonight. I work in the ad industry, so I will be sure to watch this.

"It doesn’t take long to get seduced by “Mad Men.”

The arty opening credit sequence sets the mood as cast names whiz by almost too fast to see. A velvet-voiced crooner in the background eases us into a different world--New York in 1960 at the birth of modern advertising.

The camera lingers on leather banquettes and men in sharp suits with short-cropped haircuts. It turns to the bar where an ad man sits drinking, so natty, so hip, so Madison Avenue and so not anywhere else.

It’s a perfect visual memory of an era long gone and much missed.

Then the man, noticing his waiter is smoking Old Gold, calls him over. He's an ad guy. He wants to know why Old Gold, not Lucky Strike. But before the waiter, who is black, can answer, his supervisor appears.

Is there a problem? he asks the advertising man. He tells him the waiter has a bad habit of getting chatty with customers. He apologizes for any affront.

Just like that, the romance is punctured. We’re reminded, in one swift moment, that the very real memory of that time isn’t real at all but as much a construct as the ad campaign the man at the bar is working on.

“Mad Men,” which premieres tonight at 10 on AMC, is good at that. It nails the era's sense of postwar, nuclear-family, can-do optimism, all the while undermining it.

Creator Matthew Weiner, a “Sopranos” veteran, has studied the master -- that would be David Chase -- well.

In “Sopranos,” Chase brilliantly contrasted the ordinariness of Italian family life against the brutality of criminal life.

In “Men,” Weiner flawlessly creates a world that invokes fondest memories of an era, then tests those memories, peeling them back to reveal ugly truths beneath, the ingrained racism, anti-Semitism and sexism that permeated all levels of society during those years."

Inconceiveable!!!!

Hey all you Buttercup fans.... The Princess Bride is 20 years old! I can't believe it!!!
click here and check out the "then and now" of all the major players from the movie.

.....my name is Inigo Montoya.... prepare to die.......

Office Update

NBC announced Monday that the Office's season premiere will be Thursday, Sept. 27 and be an hour long. Actually, the first four episodes will be an hour long. Can't wait!

Game On

On again, off again Van Halen tour is now sounding back on! Billboard is reporting a fall area tour is in the works.

I for one am keeping my fingers crossed. Again.

Makes You Think

By Keith Olbermann

July 4, 2007 | Finally tonight, as promised, a Special Comment on what is, in everything but name, George Bush's pardon of Scooter Libby.

"I didn't vote for him," an American once said, "But he's my president, and I hope he does a good job." That -- on this eve of the Fourth of July -- is the essence of this democracy, in 17 words. And that is what President Bush threw away yesterday in commuting the sentence of Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

The man who said those 17 words -- improbably enough -- was the actor John Wayne. And Wayne, an ultra-conservative, said them when he learned of the hair's-breadth election of John F. Kennedy instead of his personal favorite, Richard Nixon, in 1960.

"I didn't vote for him but he's my president, and I hope he does a good job." The sentiment was doubtlessly expressed earlier. But there is something especially appropriate about hearing it, now, in Wayne's voice: The crisp matter-of-fact acknowledgment that we have survived, even though for nearly two centuries now, our commander in chief has also served, simultaneously, as the head of one political party and often the scourge of all others.

We as citizens must, at some point, ignore a president's partisanship. Not that we may prosper as a nation, not that we may achieve, not that we may lead the world, but merely that we may function.

But just as essential to the 17 words of John Wayne is an implicit trust, a sacred trust: that the president for whom so many did not vote can in turn suspend his political self long enough, and for matters imperative enough, to conduct himself solely for the benefit of the entire republic.

Our generation's willingness to state "We didn't vote for him, but he's our president, and we hope he does a good job" was tested in the crucible of history, and earlier than most.

And in circumstances more tragic and threatening. And we did that with which history tasked us. We enveloped our president in 2001. And those who did not believe he should have been elected -- indeed those who did not believe he had been elected -- willingly lowered their voices and assented to the sacred oath of nonpartisanship. And George W. Bush took our assent, and reconfigured it, and honed it, and shaped it to a razor-sharp point and stabbed this nation in the back with it.

Were there any remaining lingering doubt otherwise, or any remaining lingering hope, it ended yesterday when Mr. Bush commuted the prison sentence of one of his own staffers. Did so even before the appeals process was complete. Did so without as much as a courtesy consultation with the Department of Justice. Did so despite what James Madison -- at the Constitutional Convention -- said about impeaching any president who pardoned or sheltered those who had committed crimes "advised by" that president. Did so without the slightest concern that even the most detached of citizens must look at the chain of events and wonder: To what degree was Mr. Libby told, "Break the law however you wish -- the president will keep you out of prison"?

In that moment, Mr. Bush, you broke that fundamental compact between yourself and the majority of this nation's citizens, the ones who did not cast votes for you.

In that moment, Mr. Bush, you ceased to be the president of the United States. In that moment, Mr. Bush, you became merely the president of a rabid and irresponsible corner of the Republican Party.

And this is too important a time, Sir, to have a commander in chief who puts party over nation. This has been, of course, the gathering legacy of this administration. Few of its decisions have escaped the stain of politics. The extraordinary Karl Rove has spoken of "a permanent Republican majority," as if such a thing -- or a permanent Democratic majority -- is not antithetical to that upon which rests our country, our history, our revolution, our freedoms.

Yet our democracy has survived shrewder men than Karl Rove. And it has survived the frequent stain of politics upon the fabric of government. But this administration, with ever-increasing insistence and almost theocratic zealotry, has turned that stain into a massive oil spill.

The protection of the environment is turned over to those of one political party who will financially benefit from the rape of the environment.

The protections of the Constitution are turned over to those of one political party who believe those protections unnecessary and extravagant and quaint.

The enforcement of the laws is turned over to those of one political party who will swear beforehand that they will not enforce those laws.

The choice between war and peace is turned over to those of one political party who stand to gain vast wealth by ensuring that there is never peace, but only war.

And now, when just one cooked book gets corrected by an honest auditor, when just one trampling of the inherent and inviolable fairness of government is rejected by an impartial judge, when just one wild-eyed partisan is stopped by the figure of blind justice, this president decides that he, and not the law, must prevail.

I accuse you, Mr. Bush, of lying this country into war. I accuse you of fabricating in the minds of your own people a false implied link between Saddam Hussein and 9/11. I accuse you of firing the generals who told you that the plans for Iraq were disastrously insufficient. I accuse you of causing in Iraq the needless deaths of 3,586 of our brothers and sons, and sisters and daughters, and friends and neighbors. I accuse you of subverting the Constitution, not in some misguided but sincerely motivated struggle to combat terrorists, but to stifle dissent. I accuse you of fomenting fear among your own people, of creating the very terror you claim to have fought. I accuse you of exploiting that unreasoning fear, the natural fear of your own people who just want to live their lives in peace, as a political tool to slander your critics and libel your opponents. I accuse you of handing part of this republic over to a vice president who is without conscience and letting him run roughshod over it. And I accuse you now, Mr. Bush, of giving, through that vice president, carte blanche to Mr. Libby to help defame Ambassador Joseph Wilson by any means necessary, to lie to grand juries and special counsel and before a court, in order to protect the mechanisms and particulars of that defamation with your guarantee that Libby would never see prison and, in so doing, as Ambassador Wilson himself phrased it here last night, of becoming an accessory to the obstruction of justice.

When President Nixon ordered the firing of the Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox during the infamous "Saturday Night Massacre" on October 20th, 1973, Cox initially responded tersely, and ominously. "Whether ours shall be a government of laws and not of men is now for Congress and, ultimately, the American people."

President Nixon did not understand how he had crystallized the issue of Watergate for the American people. It had been about the obscure meaning behind an attempt to break in to a rival party's headquarters, and the labyrinthine effort to cover up that break-in and the related crimes. And in one night, Nixon transformed it. Watergate -- instantaneously -- became a simpler issue: a president overruling the inexorable march of the law, insisting -- in a way that resonated viscerally with millions who had not previously understood -- that he was the law.

Not the Constitution. Not the Congress. Not the courts. Just him. Just, Mr. Bush, as you did, yesterday.

The twists and turns of Plamegate, of your precise and intricate lies that sent us into this bottomless pit of Iraq; your lies upon the lies to discredit Joe Wilson; your lies upon the lies upon the lies to throw the sand at the "referee" of prosecutor Fitzgerald's analogy, these are complex and often painful to follow and too much, perhaps, for the average citizen. But when other citizens render a verdict against your man, Mr. Bush, and then you spit in the faces of those jurors and that judge and the judges who were yet to hear the appeal, the average citizen understands that, Sir. It's the fixed ballgame and the rigged casino and the prearranged lottery all rolled into one, and it stinks. And they know it.

Nixon's mistake, the last and most fatal of them, the firing of Archibald Cox, was enough to cost him the presidency. And in the end, even Richard Nixon could say he could not put this nation through an impeachment. It was far too late for it to matter then, but as the decades unfold, that single final gesture of nonpartisanship, of acknowledged responsibility not to self, not to party, not to "base," but to country, echoes loudly into history.

Even Richard Nixon knew it was time to resign. Would that you could say that, Mr. Bush. And that you could say it for Mr. Cheney. You both crossed the Rubicon yesterday. Which one of you chose the route no longer matters. Which is the ventriloquist, and which the dummy, is irrelevant. But that you have twisted the machinery of government into nothing more than a tawdry machine of politics is the only fact that remains relevant.

It is nearly July Fourth, Mr. Bush, the commemoration of the moment we Americans decided that rather than live under a king who made up the laws, or erased them, or ignored them -- or commuted the sentences of those rightly convicted under them -- we would force our independence and regain our sacred freedoms.

We of this time -- and our leaders in Congress, of both parties -- must now live up to those standards which echo through our history. Pressure, negotiate, impeach: get you, Mr. Bush, and Mr. Cheney, two men who are now perilous to our democracy, away from its helm.

And for you, Mr. Bush, and for Mr. Cheney, there is a lesser task. You need merely achieve a very low threshold indeed. Display just that iota of patriotism which Richard Nixon showed on August 9th, 1974.

Resign.

And give us someone -- anyone -- about whom all of us might yet be able to quote John Wayne, and say, "I didn't vote for him, but he's my president, and I hope he does a good job."

Lucha Vavoooooom!

If you ever get a chance to go to Lucha Vavoooom, take it. It is like WWE on acid. Strippers, Mexican masked wrestling, dirty sanchez-es, lots and lots of alcohol. I was in the third row and saw plenty of ass (mostly male), a little cock (mostly female?), and almost got run over by midgets that were thrown in the audience. GO!

The Decemberists and Andrew Bird and Band of Horses!

At the Hollywood Bowl tomorrow, and I just got my tickets! Woo!

So....

Without sounding like a Debbie Downer, I just went 16 days straight at work. It was like that documentary from the 80s about the Olympics called "16 Days of Glory." Except it wasn't the Olympics. And it wasn't Glorious.

My job is exciting - who can complain about working for an advertising agency with a videogaming client? - but man, I'm beat. It's been hard to publish any posts.

I am trying to start a band. I found a chick that plays drums and I think that would be cool. Anyone in LA want to join?

Zap A Dog

Remember when you were a kid and your dad had that crazy gizmo that electrocuted your hot dogs instead of cooking them the normal way?

I was one of those unfortunate children whose father bought one of those crazy gizmo's and was forced to consume the most heinous hot dogs ever known to mankind. After electocuting them, they would have these black burnt ends that tasted disgusting. Somehow I still managed to find the whole thing fascinating. Oh, and the part of about the nasty smell. That would be correct.

For those wishing to experience that childhood memory, I bring you the following link Evil Mad Scientist

Fast & Cheap

Trouble getting onto the AllOfMP3 website? Try this instead.

If you were already a member of AllOfMP3, just type in your username and password onto their new site and PRESTO! let the downloading begin!

Blows My Mind

Bush is beyond belief, folks. He just commuted the jail sentence for Scooter Libby. Wow. I'm speechless. Thankfully, these folks aren't:

Harry Reid:
"The President's decision to commute Mr. Libby's sentence is disgraceful. Libby's conviction was the one faint glimmer of accountability for White House efforts to manipulate intelligence and silence critics of the Iraq War. Now, even that small bit of justice has been undone. Judge Walton correctly determined that Libby deserved to be imprisoned for lying about a matter of national security. The Constitution gives President Bush the power to commute sentences, but history will judge him harshly for using that power to benefit his own Vice President's Chief of Staff who was convicted of such a serious violation of law."

Pelosi:
"The President’s commutation of Scooter Libby’s prison sentence does not serve justice, condones criminal conduct, and is a betrayal of trust of the American people. The President said he would hold accountable anyone involved in the Valerie Plame leak case. By his action today, the President shows his word is not to be believed. He has abandoned all sense of fairness when it comes to justice, he has failed to uphold the rule of law, and he has failed to hold his Administration accountable."

Amb. Joe Wilson (whose wife is the outed CIA agent):
"From my viewpoint, the president has stepped in to short circuit the rule of law and the system of justice in our country. In so doing, he has acknowledged Mr. Libby's guilt for, among other things, obstruction of justice, which by definition is covering up for somebody in a crime. By commuting his sentence, he has brought himself and his office into reasonable suspicion of participation in an obstruction of justice. The commutation of (Libby's) sentence in and of itself is participation in obstruction of justice."

John Edwards:
"Only a president clinically incapable of understanding that mistakes have consequences could take the action he did today. President Bush has just sent exactly the wrong signal to the country and the world. In George Bush's America, it is apparently okay to misuse intelligence for political gain, mislead prosecutors and lie to the FBI. George Bush and his cronies think they are above the law and the rest of us live with the consequences. The cause of equal justice in America took a serious blow today."

Obama:
"This decision to commute the sentence of a man who compromised our national security cements the legacy of an Administration characterized by a politics of cynicism and division, one that has consistently placed itself and its ideology above the law. This is exactly the kind of politics we must change so we can begin restoring the American people’s faith in a government that puts the country’s progress ahead of the bitter partisanship of recent years."

Hillary:
"Today's decision is yet another example that this Administration simply considers itself above the law. This case arose from the Administration's politicization of national security intelligence and its efforts to punish those who spoke out against its policies. Four years into the Iraq war, Americans are still living with the consequences of this White House's efforts to quell dissent. This commutation sends the clear signal that in this Administration, cronyism and ideology trump competence and justice."