What’s Cooking


Like Hamburger Helper. Only meatier.

Speaking of sustenance, I have just been informed that chips are not actually a food group. Who knew?


American Idol: Show tunes!


I guess since so many of ’em end up doing musical theater anyway, it makes sense to give the American Idol pool a national audition. Too bad it was lousy TV for the rest of us.

Don’t be shocked if “Broadway Star” pops up on the program schedule next season. AI is losing momentum, and Andrew Lloyd Webber has already got a reality show abroad:

BBC1, this Saturday at 7.05pm: the next live episode of I’d Do Anything, the TV search for stars of a new West End production of Oliver!

He’s a musical genius – and charming – so I can see why they wanted to cut a deal and get him out in front of the American public sooner rather than later. However, the one guy who should have been right at home in the genre last night botched it, and the rest just looked downright awkward.

Except Syesha. Drama queen turned it out. Surprised? Me neither.

Archuleta had to do nothing…NOTHING…to any song on the list, and he would have been fine. But I didn’t like his adult easy listening version of whatever it was he sang. I know technically it was solid as usual, but entertaining? Not so much.

Carly and Cook were fine. Brooke was a bona fide train wreck. And Jason. Poor Jason. It was bad on its own. Worse in the closing montage. Just awkward.

Why put the poor souls through that? Pop stars don’t usually hit Broadway until they’ve exhausted their options. I don’t care if David Cook never turns up on stage in that capacity. In fact, I’d rather he didn’t.

When can we start voting the producers off the show?


Change of Plans

My signif’s a sicklet so we are now watching PA primary returns from the comfort of my couch.

However, I am still online and keeping track of what everyone else is doing to kill time. Chris and Matt over at Open Left have expanded on Matt’s ongoing primary theory that anything annoying that can happen will happen.

They have made videos explaining 6 possible annoying scenarios for tonight. This is by far the winner:


Back in the Mix


I know it’s PA primary day, and I’ve been totally missing in action. Apologies.

I had a zillion errands to run, including getting my stitches out. The good news is the doc did an excellent job, and all should heal well. I’m feeling good about that.

As for tonight, I’ll be hanging with the Americablog crew at an undisclosed location. I am sure the urge to weigh in will strike at some point during the eve. Rumor has it there may even be a pod/videocast of some sort in store.

We shall see. I suppose I could be bribed with wine and various salty snacks.

Nothing to C(NN) Here


I don’t know Richard Quest personally. We never met. I’ve got no dog in the fight and no special insight. However, I am curious and truly baffled.

I cannot understand why CNN hasn’t said anything yet about Quest’s future with the network. As of this evening, his official bio‘s still online. He’s still “one of the most instantly recognizable members of the CNN team.” For those of you who need a little reminding, Quest was arrested at 3:40am Friday morning in Central Park with hard drugs on his person, a rope tied around his neck and his genitals, and a sex toy in his shoe. CNN had no comment when Quest was arrested. They declined to comment after he was arraigned. It’s been four days since then and still nothing.

Is CNN hoping people will just forget, and it will all just go away? That somehow when Quest shows back up on the air once again as one of the network’s “most recognizable” faces, that people won’t affiliate him with kinky sex and drug use?

Interesting strategy. This (this?)…is CNN.

Who wears short shorts?

Here’s a fun one to brighten the dreary day.

I spent three summers at a camp in PA when I was a kid. Through the power of Facebook, an old bunkmate from 20+ years ago just found me online and invited me to join a group someone created to catch up about camp and post old photos. These are the two I found posted there that I’m willing to share here. The images have been cropped to protect my fellow innocent victims of ’80s fashion.




Soggy Monday

I am trying to muster up the incentive to leave the house since it won’t stop raining. Just when I think I might be able to venture out, it starts to pour again.

In the meantime, I’ve got a couple of thoughts up – and coming up – on Americablog.

Me on Display

The overexposed fuzzy figure in this cellphone photo is me.

I’m part of a User-Generated Content exhibit at the Newseum.

Dizzy? Me Too


Let me see if I’ve got this straight.

Clinton aide Jay Carson writes an email to The Washington Post’s Tom Shales. Only he doesn’t send it to Shales himself. He sends it to John Harris at the Politico.

Harris gets Carson’s permission to send the email to Shales and give it to Ben Smith to post on the Politico site.

Smith posts the note and points out Shales has not written back.

Maybe Shales hasn’t responded because the email leads one to believe Carson either didn’t read Shales’ article or missed the point entirely. Carson’s note centers around this argument:

My only complaint is when a different standard exists for each candidate, which is the glaring issue with your piece. It is troubling to me that tough on one candidate is deserving of your outrage, and tough on another candidate is fair game, even “too tame.” I would posit that if one is going to be playing referee with media coverage it is all the more important not to have a double standard.

Shales’ article was a critique of ABC’s bad journalism. The only mention of bias towards one candidate or another was this small snippet towards the end of the write:

To this observer, ABC’s coverage seemed slanted against Obama. The director cut several times to reaction shots of such Clinton supporters as her daughter, Chelsea, who sat in the audience at the Kimmel Theater in Philly’s National Constitution Center. Obama supporters did not get equal screen time, giving the impression that there weren’t any in the hall.

It seems to me Carson, Smith and Harris are all guilty of a little irresponsibility themselves. Carson for mischaracterizing the Shales review and Smith and Harris for trying to instigate controversy.

Let Carson pick his own fight without your goading him on. He’s dead wrong, and you just look ridiculous, manipulated, and misinformed by affiliation.

UPDATE: Smith’s post makes it sound like Carson sent the email to Harris and Harris alone, seeing as how Smith says Harris had to get “permission” to print it:

Politico’s John Harris sends Clinton aide Jay Carson’s e-mail yesterday to Tom Shales, the Washington Post critic who criticized ABC News for a “shoddy” and “despicable” debate this week.

Carson gave Harris permission to print his note to Shales, who so far has not written back.

This excerpt from Howie Kurtz’ Friday write looks suspiciously similar to the language in Carson’s email:

Clinton spokesman Jay Carson countered that “the press is supposed to ask every candidate tough questions . . . If you can’t handle tough questions from a TV anchor, how will you handle the Republicans or a hostile world leader?”

Carson’s email as posted on Politico reads:

To be clear, I don’t think it is a bad thing for the press to be tough on presidential candidates (or their staff for that matter). These people are running for president after all, and if you cant handle a tv anchor how should the American people expect you to handle a hostile world leader?

Even more evidence Carson’s trying to infuse a talking point that has absolutely no exclusive affiliation with Shales’ review of the ABC debate (and might help explain why there is such a disconnect between the two). Is it possible Carson’s email wasn’t just to Shales? “Clinton spokesman takes aim at Shales” or Harris and Smith take aim at Shales?

On a Quest


Let’s play Mad LibsPublic Drug-fueled Gay Sex edition.

CNN reporter Richard Quest was arrested in Central Park at 3:40am on Friday. He had a _______ tied around his ________ and his _______, a ___________ in his boot, and ___________ in his pocket.

While it should have taken CNN about _______ seconds to announce his dismissal, they are currently ___________ instead.

Meanwhile, CNN overnight writer/producer Chez Pazienza got fired for ___________.