Bad Mood.

Nygel et al. bring Brandon back to cover for Billy Bell. He gets in a day before the performance show. And then they proceed to rip him a new one for sucking at the smooth waltz, which is the dumbest dance to put on a show like this. And then they don't even guarantee that he'll be allowed to audition next year. Plus, SYTYCD has slowly gone from a show completely in the hands of the public to one that is progressively in the hands of the judges. Miserable piece of airtime.

These reality shows are just dying. ANTM thought shorter was better (in the case of K-Sizzle it is, but that's about it). Project Runway is one of the few shows where the judges ARE the stars, and that was never more apparently than this terrible season.

GAH! I should run a TV network. These people are morons. Sigh, the only thing that brightened my day (which is still going, btws... oh yeah, check that time stamp) was this:



and this:



Seriously people. I haven't been this obsessed with the epic awesomeness of a celebrity since Colin Farrell. And that's saying a LOT.

As The World Dances.

The big news on the SYTYCD front is that Billy Bell, he who brought the Shankman to tears (like that's hard or something), has dropped out of the competition. And would you believe, Guy #11 was my pick Brandon Dumlao.

Of course, Billy, he who was a frontrunner of frontrunners because he's cuddly and is named Billy, had to drop out after the top 20 were introduced tonight. So now Brandon missed out on that. Brandon also misses out on full training time for the first show (i.e. tomorrow), and Brandon is stuck on a the season where Nigel thought it would be a good idea to go on during the fall. Eediot. Ah well, some fodder (hi Kris!) make good, but this is ridiculous.

After ffing through tonight's introduction--btws how did they not do this before? this made everyone, including the choreographers, look good--also Wade Robson should always work--I've got to rejigger some predicks.

Of course, I'm still rootin' for BD.

Jakob seems like the best dude -- but what a doooooork. And not like, Kelly Clarkson ducka ducka dorkiness that makes you a winner. I'm talking, like, dance camp dorkiness.

I'm over Nathan, which is saying something b/c I was never under him. Victor doesn't seem all that bendy, which is too bad b/c I was under him. Russell's the man. Italian tapper has a melted face, but I hope he does well. Boot Philip. Boot Legacy. Boot the ballroom douche. And I can't even remember the other hip-hopper, so keep him around to the top ten then boot him first.

For the girls, I really like the latin ballroom girl -- what's her face. She's cheeky.

I liked Ellenore when I first saw her, but now I'm thinking she dances heavy (thanks Mia!). Boot married lady. Step on Molleeeeeeeeeeee until she's insignificant. Bianca is all limbs--and I don't know if that's good or bad. The other jazz girl seemed okay. All the others have just blended together: but here you go, imagine a fairly pretty blonde contemporary girl who let's her hair fall all over the place. Multiply by 4. Then boot 'em all.

Best routine, other than Wade's, was totes Mandy Moore's Coldplay routine. But if you watch closely -- the dancers actually tire out before it's over. PEOPLE. Jeanine would not approve. Step it up. I can't have Brandon win during a season of losers.

A Description Of My October.

yes you are right.  it is andy:reva::unicorn:panda

 

-Eric

Really Important News.

Good.  People think I'm a better lawyer when my basketball team does well.

 

Symbolism.  A little obvious.  But apt.

 

Forget the Kindle.  The Nook is just iPod-esque in buzziness.

 

Brandon Dumlao didn't make it.  I hate you Lythgoe.

 

Kris Allen speaks the truth about Jelly Bellies and Doug.  People, seriously, how can you not love this guy.

How Do You Stop Hulu From Charging?

Take away its credit cards!  Bwahahahahaa!

 

If only.  Forget 2012, 2010 is the apocalypse.  Boo-lu.

Putty.

Cats can be awesome sometimes. Not often (die Jupiter!), but on occasion:

Maniacs.

So, a couple months ago, I blogged about the Texas State Fair selling deep-fried butter. Well, apparently it tastes good:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

We're talking, Singles Ladies good:

Kritney.

My 20 year-old self and my 30 year-old self picnicked and plotzed at the awesomeness of this.

Aced.

I totally aced this quiz. Usually on Mental Floss quizzes I miss one or two answers but not this time. My family will tell you it's because I'm evil, seriously evil, when it comes to playing Monopoly. But I win. And that's the important thing.

Guts and Reactions.

30 Rock comes back on tonight! Can we just take a moment and reflect on how awesome this show is? And how amazing it is that between this and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, it's Liz Lemon and company that turned out to be the good show? And how amazing it is that NBC has managed to not eff up its Thursday night comedies as badly as it has every other night and at 10pm?

An ode:



In other news, The Cleveland Show is okay, in that mind-numbing Family Guy inoculating against real life kind of way. So, yeah, I like it.

I wasn't expecting FlashForward to be as good as it was. It's like Lost Season 1. Which means that in two seasons I'm going to hate it with a passion only rivaled by my loathing of Dane Cook and Sienna Miller.

And lastly, I finally saw the first episode of the new season of Fringe, and all I could think was: J.J. is already retreading the Evil Francie storyline? REALLY? You are on notice J.J. I'm watching you. Close. Ly.

To Someone Crappy and To Someone Awesome.

So this season of ANTM absolutely sucks. This whole short girl thing has squeezed out interesting and likable people (except for Laura and Nicole -- they rawque). Tonight's ep just highlighted that. So to that end, a letter:

Dear Kara,

The reason that Nicole does better than you even though she sounds like a corpse when she talks is that she's nice and you're a b____. Also, you look like Amelie Mauresmo. Glad you got booted and lost out on everything you whined about in your exit interview like a sore loser who's never seen a reality show before.

Dear Jessica White,

You are to die. Please replace Ms. Banks as the host of the next cycle of ANTM.

Sincerely,

-28st.

PS: DID YOU ALL SEE THAT MY PICK BRANDON DUMLAO HAS MADE IT TO THE FINAL CUT NEXT WEEK ON SYTYCD? The last person to have this little screen time that I liked was one Mr. K-Sizzle. To. Die.

Yeah, I Know, For Someone Who Reads For a Living, It's Weird that I Read for Fun.

Whatever It Takes, by Paul Tough.
This recounts the story of Geoffrey Canada and the Harlem Children's Zone. I first heard about this on This American Life. And I had to pick up the book. I can't tell you how awesome and inspiring this story is about education and the war against poverty. I couldn't put the book down. Tough does an amazing job of de-politicizing the issue and not shying away from the failures of the program, along with the successes. Kick awesome

The Watchmen, by Alan Moore.
This is the granddaddy of graphic novels. I guess I'm a little weird because even though I was a comic book boy (as opposed to a baseball card boy) growing up, I liked the nerdy and geeky stuff more than the dark, post-modern brooding stuff. I appreciate the deconstruction of the superhero mythos, and I get why this is such a big deal. I get the feeling, however, that the importance of the novel was as much in its timing as it was in its form. Because the central plot doesn't seem as fresh as it probably did way back when. (Ack! I just wrote a criticism of TW on the interwebs! Heresy!)

A Roundup of Awesome Videos.

First, I don't watch Mad Men, but I don't live under a rock, either:



Sesame Street just used the word sycophant. Good Lord, I'd never get into college if I had to apply these days. Get ready for more coolness:



That was pretty cool. This is, admittedly, stupid:



I laughed. I'm five years old. Sue me. And now for good measure, a little Kris Allen looking hawt:



The Pocket Idol is touring in February. Every is on notice! (Is it weird that I actually think "Little Rock" would be a good album title?)

Et Tu Crayon Gods???

Planet Money has collected indicators of the down economy. This one hit close to home. Red Robin was like this safe haven of corporate-y restarantness in Durham when I went to law school. I mean, bottomless steak fries? It couldn't BE any better. Now that I'm in DC, I'll actually travel, yes travel as if it's a destination, to go to Red Robin to eat processed burgers. Because it's awesome.

But now there's just a little less color in the world. It reminds me of the DuckTales episode where Uncle Scrooge was captured in the penguin colony where color was scarce and therefore valued. Remember that one? Yeah, that's where Mrs. Beakley proved that she's aaaaaaaaalll right.

And another thing, if you name your kid "Scrooge," aren't you just ensuring that he's going to be a mean ol' cheapskate when he grows up? Imagine that conversation:
Mom - "What should we name him? John? Robert?"
Dad - "Those are nice I guess. But how about Scrooge?
Mom - "Hm. Scrrooooge. I like it!"

I Heart the 90's.

Jimmy Fallon pointed me to a picture that encapsulates the 90's.

Not bad, Mr. Anonymous Website Guy. I should doubt you less often.

Checking In On the Best Season of Top Chef To Date.

Que-wha?

Jennifer both smiles AND cries?

The evil brother is on the chopping block?

The good brother gets persnickety when people start trashing his brother's dish? He does love him!

Ash throws himself on the grenade? Well. I guess that's not that big of a surprise. But it's ASHLEY who gets booted? Oh Tom and Padma, you got this one so very wrong.

(And you could just see the evil brother thinking at Ash, like, buddy, what are you doing? Save yourself!)

Could Yukon Cornelius be more jolly?

This season is to die. To. Die.

MJ Is Nostradamus!

Holy carp!  MJ, who blogs about American Idol and SYTYCD, and who is far, far superior to Rickey.org, totally called it.  Droopy Dog Brother #2 got cut last night!  This after everyone, everyone, got cut.  One of my faves, who I failed to blog about before, Jonathan Litzler had to dance for his life, duh duh duh, and tumbled.  Literally.  Cut.

 

But my other fave, Brandon Dumlao, has made it through Day One.  He hasn't been getting profiled, but I've been able to catch him in the background making it.  Sweet.

Worlds. Colliding.

Oh great. My internet worlds are colliding. And not in a happy way where Kris Allen stumbles on my blog, realizes we're meant to be besties, and we, um, blog about pop culture together.

For you lam-o's who don't click on links, here's the lowdown on the downlow: My beloved Planet Money just linked to ATL. ATL! Jebus, it's like I've actually surfed the entire internet.

I Guess It Pays To Discover.

I got snagged by a photo enforcement thingy in DC. To pay the ticket, I used a credit card. They accept Discover but not American Express.

(a) Who accepts Discover?
(b) Discover still exists?
(c) Does anyone use Discover other than Michael Chang?

Even More Gut Reactions.

The Good Wife.
OMG, Carol Hathaway can do law! That sneaky and magical nurse. Okay, so the inner-politics of big law firm life is way more on the Eli Stone side of reality (as in, not at all) than is the channel formerly known as CourtTV, and, well, that's really all I've got. I get the sense that this is a Prisonbreak type show, where the central conceit probably works better as a movie than as a series. If you strip away the stripped-from-the-headlines dressings, the show is basically the second half of Law and Order.
Verdict: I'll watch the second episode, but I don't have a good feeling that this is going to become Can't Miss.

Eastwick.
Amazing. There is something worse than Lindsay Price. Hey, Rebecca Romijn, the '50's called. They want their broad acting back. Yeah, I know that could be benchier, but I'm tired, this would be like shooting fish that are tied to the end of a gun.
Verdict: Keep Sara Rue, Jaime Ray Newman, and Matt Dallas. Ditch the rest.

Modern Family. Once the connection between the three families was revealed, the pilot sort of fell into place. Now the truth of the title came through, and the chances for some real kick-awesome family dinner type scenes just went waay up. I liked the pilot well enough, but I'm moreso looking forward to what's to come.
Verdict: Solid start. The kid who plays Manny is a winner. And Ed O'Neill is yet another Married With Children alum who's done good.

Cougartown.
We have a winner! I get the criticism that Courteney Cox Arquette is too hot to pretend to be an over-the-hill fortysomething year-old. But she is so balls out with the humiliations, I can't help but laugh. Maybe it was low expectations, but I laughed more genuinely during this than I did during Modern Family.
Verdict: KEEPER!