NO WORDS...

I was watching the news just now, and two items caught my attention:

1) This month's death toll in Iraq just topped 100

2) In the Amish (sp?) country where a rash of killings just happened, a car dealer is giving away guns with every test drive.

What the hell kind of world do we live in, anyway?

WHAT I'M WATCHING, Part Two

Heroes -- but only when its rebroadcast, on Fridays, on SciFi. Why? Dunno. OK, yes I do. I watch Battlestar Galactica every week (no tapes, no TiVo, must be live), so that preety much means by Friday night is spoken for, so I spend the time leading up to it watching TV I wouldn't normally watch... let's be honest: "Heroes" appeals to the lowest-common denomenators, and makes NO sense whatsoever. But I like the look of it: cartoony, without being childish; dark without being morose; animated without looking like a bad graphic novel. And last time (well, last week) the cheerleader took matters into her own hands. If you don't know what I mean, you owe it to yourself to check this show out.

Although, does anyone else think that guy was cuter when he was on "Gilmore Girls?"

WHY I'VE BEEN WATCHING WHAT I'VE BEEN WATCHING

... cuz' they accomplished more in one episode than "Will & Grace" did in an entire season.

WHAT I'M WATCHING, Part 1

Aside from the return of Battlestar Galactica, I can't think of any other TV shows I was excited to watch this fall. Then, I saw a preview for the English version of "Betty La Fea" -- one of THE biggest telenovas, ever.

Well, I'm hooked. Very few shows ever live up to the hype they get -- just ask the folks over at NBC/Universal Television, who more or less gave up on original, prime-time programming, and laid 700 people off: TV is a hard business.

But Ugly Betty not only lives up to the fanfare surrounding its cross-over to American TV, but breaks bold, new ground in the areas of gender identity, and body-image culture. And its damn funny, too.

Check it out if you get the chance.

USE ALL THAT MONEY TO BUY A CLUE!

I was browsing the morning paper the other day, when I came across an interesting item: casino magnate Steve Wynn, an avid rare/valuable art collector, decided to part with a Picasso he owned.

He sold it to a private party (rumored to be in the $130-140 million range), but while giving a private, "last minute" showing to some friends (including news anchor/dog lover Bawbwa Walters), he poked a hole int he painting with his elbow.

This was after the ink was dry on the deal -- the night before the painting was to exchange hands. He's offered to pay to have it restored...


which only proves money cany buy just about anything. Well, except, maybe... better hand-eye, uh, or I guess, elbow-eye coordination.

ALL THAT GLITTERS...

While, uh, browsing a copy of my favorite reference series, I came across a story that made me giggle... yeah, I said it: giggle. A fully-grown man in his thirties, giggled. A lot. (OK, I'm only a year into my thirties, but I had to say something to counter-balance the image of me having a girly-giggle fit.) Filed under medical mishaps, or "The Doctor Is Out (Of His Mind)" I found the following:

A patient of a hospital in Orange County, Florida, sued the facility in 2005, saying they had wrongly injected cosmetic glitter into his buttocks.

The story goes on to say that the man (an undercover police officer, to boot) had gone in for a routine sinus surgery, but when administered a shot of Demeral (a pain med), something, "felt" wrong. Several months later, the cheek where the Demeral had been injected was swollen, and contained, "green and red sparkling matter."


The outcome? Well, all parties involved agreed that, yes, there was, in fact glitter in this cop's ass. But so much time had lapsed (between the surgery and the actual identification of glitter), there was no way to determine the source of the glitter. The guy lost his lawsuit.


My only lingering thought is this: A patient of a hospital in Orange County, Florida, sued the facility in 2005, saying they had wrongly injected cosmetic glitter into his buttocks. Is there a correct, or perhaps, preferred procedure to select to obtain a glittering gluteus?

WHATDUHFUGIZTHIZZABUT?

OK, so back when I was the editor of a certain magazine, we featured a cover-model who went by the name Kris Knight.

He was pretty darn good looking, and went on to do work with other magazines and websites. But recently I stumbled across a picture of him on someone's blog, and nearly passed out... he looks so very different.

He's working under a new name, but that tattoo, and that smile are not easy to forget. He looks horrible, if you ask me. One has to wonder what happens when an attractive, fit, young model turns into... well, I've attached a before and after picture to this post, so you can decide.


Remember kids: crack is wack.

G-G-G-GIVE IT WHAT U GOT!

Alright, here are my music picks (old and new tracks) for this month: I've provided links to check out a sample, whenever possible. Tracks marked with † are available on iTunes.

Fergalicious by Fergie - Yeah, her solo album is hit-and-miss, but this is one of those tracks that just rocks the house. Contrary to what I've been hearing/reading, this song does NOT sample JJ Fad. This is an easy mistake to make, as the track has that ol' skool booty-bass sound to it. The song sample (the most) in "Fergalicious" is "Give It All You Got" by Afro-Rican †

Never Win [Radio Edit/Mirwais Remix] by Fischerspooner -- a kickin' breaks-inspired electropop anit-victim song. Sweeet. †

Girls Can Be Cruel [Extended Dub/King Unique Mix] by Infusion - This song has a very unusual cadence to it, and I could listen to it again, and again. †

Shine [Freemasons Remix] by Luther Vandross - the Freemasons are my favorite remixers at the moment, and they've really outdone themselves with this one. A must-have for old scool house fans. †

Deja Vu [Freemasons Remix] by Beyonce - another killer remix from the 'Masons.

I Don't Feel Like Dancing by the Scissor Sisters - it looks like this album may go big, and this tart, BeeGee's inspired song may be just the trick. †

These Are The Days [Vocal Mix] by Quiiver - Yes, I spelled the name of the group correctlee... but seriously, I haven't heard anything from these guys in almost 4 years, but this is as good as anything they've done in the past. They're like a more talented version of Dirty Vegas.

Bossy [The Scumfrog Remix] by Kelis - still rockin' my iPod, all these months after I picked this track up.

I Think It's Gonna Rain... by Mama Cass - Cass Elliott. 'Nuff said.

One Headlight by The Wallflowers - for some reason, this song came back into my mind, and the lyrics fascinate me now more that when the song first came out. †

Twist In My Sobriety by Tanita Takaram - this is a realy departure from what I normally listen to, but I found this artist on Tiga's iTunes playlist, and fell in love with this song. †

Enjoy!

IT'S BAAACK!

I've been waiting for this moment for sooooooo long, I thought I was going to lose my mind! I'll blog more about Battlestar Galactica after I've finished the Season 2.5 disc that's here from Netflix, but probably not before the season opener tonight -- there's an interesting connection between the direction this season seems to be taking, and the course the United States is on (in Iraq, etc.), and I can't wait to see where this goes.

Uh, the show, that is.