Count Me In For the Whining

When I was in my twenties I watched, and loved, thirtysomething, but it was taken off the air before I actually hit my thirties and could really understand it. And now that I have hit my thirties it looks like the show's creators will be producing a show about people in their twenties. I'll probably watch it, but am hoping that they'll eventually do a show for people in their forties. That's not, you know, like Matlock or something.

The Wookie Has No Pants

I have no intention of buying the prettied-up "Star Wars" trilogy when it comes out on DVD next week. (I'll stick to my old-school laserdiscs of "Star Wars" and "Empire" and continue to pretend "Return of the Jedi" never happened.) But I was pleased to catch Star Wars: Empire of Dreams, one of the documentaries that's included in the DVD package, on TV last night. It's chock full of interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and old audition tapes. (Kurt Russell as Han Solo!) And Harrison Ford's interview regarding George Lucas's approach to directing actors provided some good insight into why the acting in the films continues to be so atrocious.

So, all you "Star Wars" geeks, the two-hour doc will be rerun on A&E Sunday the 19th at noon, and Saturday the 25th at 1:00pm.

This Toy Is Going To Be YOOOGE

Anyone watch the premiere of The Apprentice last night? Raj frightens me, but not as much as the Subway lady. And thank God this is the toy the team went with instead of that ridiculous motorized football player head. The hell?

You Can Watch Yourself While You Are Eating

The episode of Bands Reunited featuring The English Beat premieres tonight at 5:00pm and 10:00pm on VH-1. I'm enjoying the show, but the episode about The New Kids On the Block was totally lame. You kind of know when the running time for an episode is only 30 minutes (when they're usually an hour) that the band will NOT be reunited.

Luckily, tonight's episode is an hour long. But I really wish the show's producers had contacted me when they were searching for singer Dave Wakeling. I know a certain racetrack he loves to perform at, and man, do the fans love him there! (Warning: Link launches a QuickTime movie.)

I'll Find It Funny...On Account of the Heavy Drinking, Jeff!!

J.J. Abrams, the creator of the kick-ass Alias, is set to create a show for the equally kick-ass Cheri Oteri. I watched a "Best of Cheri Oteri" episode of SNL last week, and realized I LOVE her. How come I didn't like her this much when the show was on? And what the hell happened to her since she left?

Narrated By...Sting

John Lennon's Jukebox , an episode of PBS's "Great Performances" airs tonight at 8:00pm, and it sounds interesting. I always find it kind of fascinating to delve into the music collections of the famous, especially learning what they listened to prior to their becoming famous...

I'm All Out of Sorts

I haven't picked up the Fall Preview edition of TV Guide yet, and my issue of Entertainment Weekly's Fall TV preview hasn't arrived.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO WATCH!!

Well, that's not really true. I have a pretty good idea of what new shows I'll be tuning in to (at least their pilot episodes. I'm talking to you LAX!) but I like to know what days the premieres are occuring on, and of course what the TV-viewing professionals think of them.

I do know that the only new show of note premiering tonight is The Next Great Champ on Fox. That's the boxing reality show NOT hosted by Sylvester Stallone. Which is to say, it's Fox's rip-off of the Mark Burnett series The Contender, which doesn't premiere until November. And there's more than one similarity between the shows: I don't care about either one of them! I don't watch boxing unless it involves a Prince.

That's all I can muster for today. My section of the office is about 10 degrees hotter than any other room in this building, and I'm feeling a little lightheaded...Is it 5:00 yet?

Ivana Get Out of this Place

Ivana Trump is getting her own reality show, currently titled "Ivana Young Man." All I can say is good luck.

Noooo! Not the Vacation Slides!

Yes. I went on vacation. And yes. You WANT to see photos! So here's a brief, illustrated travelogue. I can't be bothered to come up with an entirely new narrative, so I'm gonna fudge a little and copy from myself. For I am a lazy broad....

First, we took a tour of Hearst Castle. It was quite fabulous, as would be expected. Afterwards, we stayed at The Madonna Inn. Our room was the Fabulous Fifties room, but I think it was a bit more 1850s than 1950s. What WAS 1950s (esque) was the presense of Brian Setzer, who was having a drink in the hotel bar. I tried to take a clandestine, non-flash photo, but it didn't turn out so good. (He's the kind of blonde blur next to the pillar on the right...)

An early start allowed us a stop in Solvang before we cranked up the air conditioner and cruised into the proverbial oasis in the desert. And it really was. A mere 70 bucks a night. A salt water pool. Hardly anyone there. Tastefully decorated. Free breakfast. And freshly baked chocolate chip cookies at 5:30pm! I almost don't want to tell anyone about it lest I spoil it, but I just can't help it. If you ever plan a stay in Palm Springs, check out The Chase Hotel.

The next day we made a brief visit to Lake Havasu, Arizona, home to the London Bridge, where it was about 200 degrees outside. Couldn't do much there but pant and snap a few photos. Our pit stop that night was Kingman, Arizona, on Route 66. We stayed at the Hilltop Motel, Timothy McVeigh's choice when he stayed in Kingman prior to the Oklahoma City bombings. If that wasn't creepy enough, during our stay there, T. had a bad night's sleep, having had a nightmare of some guy chasing her and grabbing her by the leg. And the next morning? She had a hand-shaped bruise on her calf. Swear. To. God.


Needless to say we checked out early, but didn't leave town before visiting some of their groovy museums.


And then, the penultimate destination. As I said before, Veagas cannot be summed up with just one photo. So...Take...Your...Pick.

Our final stop was another Route 66 town: Barstow, California, where we couldn't resist staying at the Route 66 Motel. Despite having to get a new TV put in the room, and the broken shower head, it was a place with it's share of charms.

All-in-all it was a fabulous road trip. Not nearly as unbearably hot as I had been warned it would be. And full of many more (photographed) moments I'm more than willing to share with anyone interested. Like the Bonnie and Clyde pseudo-death car! And the authentic Clyde Barrow death shirt! And the worst mural of Elvis you'd ever hope to see!

The road. She has so many treasures to offer...

I Swear I Could See the Clamp on the Back of Her Head

Did anyone see Farrah Fawcett on David Letterman last night? While it wasn't as bizarre as her previous, drugged-out appearance, I was astounded by how scary she looks. Like too-many-face-lifts scary. And then she started talking about how she's never had a face-lift! How could she say something like that with a straight face? (Pun intended!)

Anyway, there's a clip on the official Late Show site.