Death in the family

My great-aunt Thelma passed away over the weekend. She was nearly 90.

Dave's back

David Letterman is back doing new shows this week and will have his first opportunity to pay homage to Johnny Carson. Sure enough, he did. It's an all-Johnny tribute. Done better than Jay's, I'm sure. But I'm biased. Check it out tonight.

Tax Free Week Returns!

One of the coolest things about moving to New York is the tax free week. Starting tomorrow and through Feb 6th is the second of these in the five months I've been here. The article says that this is the last one, though.

Inside Pulse writings...

I have two new articles posted on Inside Pulse: one is my recap of The Bachelorette in which I do a LOT of Fabrice-bashing. Like I have any other choice. And, my regular flagship column is about The Ashlee Simpson Show. Hey, it's no surprise to anyone that I never have any good ideas for that column.

Oscars...

The Oscar nominations were announced today and here they are. I don't think there are any big surprises. Clint Eastwood was nominated for Best Actor, over Paul Giamatti - that was a bit of a surprise, I guess. The Aviator is the big movie of the year, with 11 nominations total. Of course, I haven't seen any of the nominated movies or performances, save Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but there's still time. Ray comes out on video next week.

Couple of interesting television tidbits...

By way of TV Tattle, I learned today that Paige Davis is leaving Trading Spaces in March as they go to a "hostless" format. I'm a little intruiged but I have to say that since I very rarely watch the show anymore, it doesn't really affect me. It does surprise me a little, though, as she has become so synonymous with the show that most people don't even realize she wasn't the only host. I doubt Paige will have any trouble landing on her feet, though. Am I the only one who foresees her helping to host The View while Elisabeth is on maternity leave?

Interesting tidbit #2: In the controversial Desperate Housewives-Monday Night Football promo, Nicollette Sheridan was supposed to seduce John Madden, not Terrell Owens. Ew. And people were offended by what they saw - imagine what they might have seen.

Super Bowl Set

Well, unfortunately, the New England Patriots are heading to yet another Super Bowl under the "genius" of their head coach, Bill Belichik. Needless to say, I'm rooting for their opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles have a cuter mascot, anyway. The Super Bowl is February 6. Yes, that means two weeks of hype.

Watching The Apprentice...

They roped me in to the new season, at least so far, even though I told myself I wasn't going to watch. But, I have to say, that I'm already sick to death of the stupid 'book smarts vs. street smarts' hook. The street smarts people seem like a lot better candidates than the book smarts, but that has nothing to do with their education. It's because they are idiots. Not everyone who goes to college is intelligent - I think we all know that. I also don't really like the idea that they are trying to devalue an education. Someone without one might win a reality show, but that doesn't mean that person will be hired at every job. Also, it seems like the majority of the "street smarts" are real estate agents and, last time I checked, you do need some sort of education for that whether it is a college degree or not.

That being said, I was glad to see Todd get booted. He sucked. And, Danny, oy. How annoying is he? And how bad was he with that marketing plan? Of course he's from Cleveland, too, to further bring my hometown down. He graduated from Cleveland State, too, so does that really say a whole lot for his education? I'm not sure. And, doesn't he look like a thin Michael Moore? And his teammate Erin looks like Ashlee Simpson. Stephanie reminds me of Ereka from Season 1, too. On the other team, Tana looks a little like Amy from the first season and Tara looks a little like Omarosa.

Tax Evasion

One of the more surprising news stories of the last couple of days is first Survivor winner Richard Hatch not paying his taxes on his $1 million winnings. Huh? What was he thinking? He won the money on national television with like the biggest television viewing audience of the year watching. Did he think the IRS wouldn't find out? If I worked at the IRS, those reality show winners would be the first people I'd check out.

I'm Back!!

So, I've been a little MIA for the last month or so. I was out of town and did not have regular computer access so I didn't bother to try to post. I kept up with my Inside Pulse duties, though, and here is my latest column. It's about the Golden Globes.

100 Most Memorable TV Moments

I've been caught up watching this TVLand program all day, where they count down the top TV moments. (It's such a miserable day out so why not stay in and veg?) It's a pretty good show and I'm thinking maybe I'll work it into my Inside Pulse column this week. I'm pleased that most of the top moments are all history-related. I mean, people belittle television-watching all the time but it really is the place that has offered some amazing and memorable images. And when you think about the truly most memorable moments, they typically aren't scenes or episodes from shows but rather events or news stories seen live.

Speaking of Survivor...

Did anyone else see Colby on Joey last night? Yummy! Those guest star parts may be small but he's gotten some parts on some high-profile shows. Also, it took me about 22 minutes into the episode to remember that Lucy Liu and Matt LeBlanc were a couple in the Charlie's Angels movie.

Survivor - one more to go!

Well, I'm not sure why my recap is STILL not posted but someday it will be here. I was really rooting for Chris to vote out Twila, for some reason. I don't know why since I don't like Julie and had been rooting for Twila. Twila is getting on my nerves, though. Anyway, I definitely think it would have been MUCH smarter for Chris to keep Julie but I guess we'll see. What a wild final four, though, eh? I don't think there has ever been a more unbelievable final four in all the seasons of Survivor. All of these people were thisclose from getting booted many, many times and have been able to survive this long. Wow. I think Eliza is right that they are all deserving in some way. Except maybe Scout. To be able to keep yourself in the game when your alliances are turning on you and you end up outnumbered is amazing.

The Amazing Race

Speaking of Tuesday shows, I thought I'd chat a little about this week's Amazing Race since I watched it a couple hours ago. I was actually really wishing it was going to be an elimination round and the old fogies would go because, for some reason, they really annoy me. I simultaneously feel bad for them and admire them, but they still annoy me. I really like Kris & Jon so I'm glad that they were able to overcome their really stupid move in the beginning of the episode and end up in first place. They seem like such great people - especially comparing Kris to all those other whiny women like Hayden and Kendra. Ugh. Other than that, Jonathan and Victoria seemed more bearable this week - shockingly.

It should be interesting to see Don and Mary Jean try to gather money at the start of the next round, considering they are now broke and in a destitute country. Perhaps Don could get his hands on a cab and offer some rides - those drivers sure raked in the funds.

Other good news from the world of television...

According to The Futon Critic: "A whopping 7.0 million viewers tuned into Sunday's premiere of the telefilm, The Librarian, making it the most-watched original movie thus far in 2004 on basic cable." Heh. I should be so proud! Not that I've seen it - yet. I did tape it despite it looking rather hokey. I need to stand behind anything that promotes my future profession, though. And, wow, the most-watched original movie on basic cable in all of 2004? Pretty impressive.

Also from The Futon Critic: The new season of Celebrity Poker Showdown starts Jan. 25th! The first episode features: Brad Garrett, Catherine O'Hara, Curt Schilling, Ray Romano and Sara Rue. I'll be interested to see real-life interaction between Brad Garrett and Ray Romano. Somehow I'm guessing it isn't too different than TV-life. Anyway, I love this show. I'm not too happy about it airing on Tuesdays now, though, because I already have two Tuesday shows and there are many days where I have no shows. But I'll adapt. At least I don't have class on Tuesdays next semester...

The Late Late Show With...

Craig Ferguson!! That is supposed to be announced today and I'm pleased with the selection. He definitely was the best of the final four, and although I was secretly rooting for Michael Ian Black, I'm actually glad they went with Craig. Craig's week was good and got better, whereas Michael's week ended on a real down note. Also, Craig went first of the final four and theoretically had less time to prepare, also. Both ended their week of hosting with a gimmick - Craig started Formal Fridays and it was fun to watch and hopefully will continue. It would be great to see the guests dance formally every Friday - I'm sure those actors are looking for more opportunities to wear those fancy clothes sitting in their closet. Meanwhile, Black did a blood drive for the American Red Cross on his last night and collected a whopping four pints of blood. I'm not sure what the point was. Craig also had a hysterical bit where he tried out for an Elvis role. He was by far the best interviewer of the final four as well. If you remember, I was a big fan of Craig's from the first go-round - in a pleasantly surprised kind of way - and predicted him as a frontrunner even then. Kind of ironic that they are replacing a Craig with a Craig...

Is the VCR dead?

That's the question addressed in this New York Post column (via TV Tattle). I have to say that it really annoys me because the VCR is most definitely NOT dead - and I speak as someone with a Tivo-ish machine. I like both! I have to admit, though, that it does seem hard to find a regular old VCR anymore. They all seem to be those VCR-DVD combos and I already have a separate DVD player that works fine (although it is from like 1997 or 1998 and is the size of a microwave oven, practically). Anyway, as far as recording goes, VCRs definitely have some benefits over DVRs and when I'm just taping and retaping my soaps every day, I'm fine with the picture I get off of regular non-digital cable TV in my bedroom. One thing that really bothers me about the DVR is that there is no counter of any type. I like to know how much time is left in a program when I'm watching it and the only way to check that out on my DVR is to stop the program. DVD recorders are supposed to be nice, although most of them are still pretty pricey. However, Gateway's is only $150 and it seems to work well, according to my family members who have one. But, a package of VHS tapes is still a lot cheaper than a package of recordable DVDs right now. And I don't think you can record over and over on a DVD either.

The Apprentice episode 13

I DEFINITELY don't know which episode of The Apprentice it is, but I'm going by their Web site. Another less-than-surprising outcome, in my opinion. I was pretty sure that Kelly, Kevin and Jennifer were assured a final four spot but I wasn't sure which of the other two (Sandy or Ivana) would make it and after seeing the preview where Ivana takes her skirt off, I thought that was a goner move. And, of course, when they both became project managers, I knew whichever team lost would seal their fate. I wish the final four would have been Kelly, Kevin, Sandy and Ivana but Jennifer really seems to have them all snowed. I can't stand her, especially after the week where she couldn't figure out that jeans wheel. I have a feeling she is going to continue to snow people, though, and might actually make it to the final two. All I can hope then is that her teammates sabotage her just like Omarosa sabotaged Kwame last year. Anyway, only two more episodes!

Survivor episode 12

I'm not sure if I have that episode number correct but that's what I used for my recap so I'll stick with it. My recap should be up here sometime soon. Another pretty predictable episode for this season. Although there was talk about Eliza forcing a tie, I don't think that was really feasible. Maybe next week, there will be some re-shuffling with the use of Julie. Chris and Julie are friendly and Eliza and Julie are friendly so maybe they foresee bringing her to the final three instead and breaking up that Twila-Scout pair. Personally, I don't want to see Julie make it any farther than she has already, but I would be glad to see the Twila-Scout pair break up. I had been rooting for Twila but she seemed kind of cocky and obnoxious this episode now that she has the power and it seems to get only worse next episode. So I can't believe I'm actually rooting for Eliza to win right now. Hey, she is the person I go to school with... Oh, and also, what is up with everyone always making final four plans? The game doesn't end when there are four left.

Good news

When my DSL finally starting working again this afternoon, I was met with some great news: Butch Davis resigned! Yay! Good riddance. I have to say it would be kind of funny if the Browns won their remaining games without Butch. Of course, that isn't likely with the rash of injuries.