CHA, CHA, CHA...

I know you're busy, but take a moment out to enjoy this blast from the past:

GREAT FOOD, GREAT SERVICE

It's no secret, I love Carl's Jr.'s Western Bacon Cheeseburger. And I love the commercial Top Chef's Padma did for them. (You can watch it here.)

What I didn't say is how much I love the music in the commercial. I sent an email to the company (via the Hardees site), asking about it. This was about a week ago. Today, I got an email from them. Turns out the song is called "Round the World" by Chris Winston featuring Aisha Francis.

Not only did they respond to my crazed-fan mail request, they did it quickly and professionally. I know the founder of Carl's Jr. is a right-wing nutjob, but kudos to his employees for the awesome food and kick-@ss customer service.

Unlike Staples (long story for another day), Carl's has a customer for life.

THANK YOU FOR BEING A FRIEND

Sad, sad news this weekend: TV comedy legend, Bea Arthur passed away. She will be remembered... and missed.

PUT THE KETTLE ON, MY DEAR

It would take 329 gallons of tea to fill one of the teacups at Disneyland.

NOT-SO A-LIST

So I decided I wanted to vote for this year's Bravo A-List Awards. So I tooled on over to BravoTV.com, and... nothing. No links, no mention, no search results that helped me find my way to the actual voting. (You can vote here). Nice word clearance, guys.

This is just like last month's Bravo online promo: Be A Part of Bravo's TV Panel. I had no idea what it was, but it sounded like fun. Until a few days ago, there wasn't a link on Bravo's site. But now that it is up, I went over there to "join the panel." After asking a few questions about my age, how much TV I watched (and giving them my email), they said they had all the information they needed. Nice panel.

Ah, the wonders of modern media... I mean, how many things can the management of NBC/Universal ruin? Let's wait and see!

UH... WHAT?

I love/hate this new Quiznos commercial.

THAT'S IT... (SORT OF)

All done. Except for the spinoff movie about life before the war, called Caprica. And the complete re-hashing of the entire war from the point of the Cylons, called The Plan.

But other than that, we are very sad to see the end of Battlestar Galactica

DID YOU SAY GAGA or CACA?

There's a lady artist (or maybe a m'lady, not sure about this) named Lady GaGa who seems to have penetrated every facet of my life in the last few months.

I first hear her/him/hisr a while back on the radio, without knowing who she/he/shim was. I remember thinking, Wow, this beat is hot, but who is this horrible vocalist? And is singing about being too drunk to keep her clothes on?

Then, at the gym, I saw a video for "Poker Face" which (again) had me thinking, What an interesting tune... and what a horrible tranny mess of a vocalist.

Against my better judgment, I went digging on the interwebs and iTurds and found Lady CaCa. And since then, she's been on the video screen at the gym, on MTV Tr3s (yes, they still show music), was featured in an episode of one of my fave new shows (Dollhouse) and has been on the two pop radio stations I listen to on the way to school.

Let me be clear: I don't like her. I almost hate her, and her trashy, horrible music. But her tracks have kind of become part of the defacto soundtrack to my life right now.

I'm not sure how to feel about this...

WELL, DUH...

Earlier in the week, the business section of the Los Angeles Times featured a Nielson Report on current trends in television watching. The report basically said we're watching more TV, as a country. (You can read the article here.)

The report cited a number of anecdotes, and even had some interesting statistics. The study found that Americans are turning to the boob tube as a cheap source of entertainment because of the bad economy.

The average viewer in the U.S. now watched about 151 hours of TV a month, up 3.6% from the previous year. It only averages out to about 5 more hours a month, but all the extra TV viewing is having a profound impact on the medium as a whole. The increase in viewing isn't translating into better ratings, because of the number of niche and specialty entertainment streams available. They estimated that 27 of the 151 monthly hours spent "watching TV" are actually logged on computers and portible devices.

So basically, the folks over at Nielson spent tons of time and mountains of money compiling a report that says Americans like watching TV. We like it so much, we've actually (somehow) found a way to watch more of it.

Well, duh...

THE TIDE IS HIGH...

But I'm holding on!

I've had this song stuck in head/stuck in a replay loop for the past several weeks. But it wasn't until I loaded it into iTunes that I noticed something odd. The artwork says Kardinal Offishall feat Keri Hilson, but the version I have clearly features Rihanna.

What gives? Why the two versions? I'm awake a little earlier than I would like to be, for a Saturday morning, and these are the things I ponder when that happens.

I'm not sure which version I like better. There's a post on Officially Hip-Hop.com that explains this a little better, here. Any thoughts/comments out there?

WELCOME TO THE "DOLLHOUSE"

I'm watching episode two of Fox's new Friday night thriller, Dollhouse, and I have to admit: I'm hooked. I started watching for Tahmoh Penikett (IMDB here), who is/was in Battlestar Galactica (and damn sexy, too).

But I'm hooked on the plot: dense without being difficult, new and fresh from start to finish. And it did pretty well last week, beefing up on its lead in, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, growing in size by 25%.

We'll see how this plays out.

OK... NOW I'M PISSED

TMZ.com went public with this photo, from LAPD:
It is unclear how TMZ got this photo, but it breaks my heart to see Rihanna like this.

IS MADEA THE NEW ERNEST?

LIFE AFTER "DEATH"

It turns out they've gone ahead and made a movie about the further adventures from one of my favorite TV shows, Dead Like Me. The further adventures of Grim Reapers of Seattle returns tomorrow.

YOU GOTTA GIVE 'EM HOPE

I'd like to throw my two cents into the universe regarding this year's Oscar Best Picture: Milk, should and will win, if there's any justice in the universe. (Although the film makes it obvious that justice isn't a constant.)

I cannot imagine Slumdog Millionaire as anywhere near the same level of scope, width and depth as a film like Milk.

And I'm not just saying this because I went to school with the movie's writer and one of its stars.

Best Pictures should be in the way of and even Ben Hur, Schindler's List, West Side Story, Amadeus, The Last Emperor and even Forrest Gump. Can we really look back at 2008 at say Slumdog is the absolute best cinema had to offer?

REALLY? GRAMMY EDITION

Really, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences?
The Jon-ass Brothers with Stevie Wonder? They were trying to do one of those groove-in-your-face kind of things, and all I could think was, He's blind! You can groove in his face, and he won't ever know it... so what's the point?

Really, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences?
T.I.? 'Nuff said.

Really, T.I.?
I heard your bellyaching about how "character will take you places money never will," and all I could think was, Funny, 'cause your character is about to get you sent to jail.

Really, Whitney Houston?
You looked like you were off the drugs... looked. But you sounded like you'd been huffing paint.

Really, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences?
Horrible show. Next time, don't have "The Rock" give the 'humorous' speech about how much he loves the Grammys.

TALES FROM THE TOITEY, Vol 2

According to a report published in The Los Angeles Times a while back, sewer systems all over the world are full of drugs. No, people aren't flushing drugs down the toitey. The presence of illicit drugs is because pf all the drug users peeing and pooing.

Yes, someone actually went around testing municipal waste systems for specific drug content! (Doesn't that sound like a fun job?) Some of the findings from this "environmental" study:

• Meth levels are higher in Las Vegas than Omaha or Oklahoma City
• Los Angeles has more cocaine in its sewage than most major European cities
• Heroin use is higher in London than other major European cities - other standouts included cities in Italy and Switzerland (London won by about 100 grams per 1000 people)
• Marijuana users outnumber ecstasy and meth users in Milan and Lugano
• Milan uses twice as much cocaine as its last government report on drug abuse and arrests suggested
• In Los Angeles County, Palmdale and Lancaster had the highest level of cocaine in their systems - Long Beach and Valencia had the lowest

SAD, SAD NEWS

According to Boston.com (article here), ABC is not renewing (read, canceling) Eli Stone and Pushing Daisies. These are two of my favorite shows... I'm so sad.

Both programs show an extraordinary attention to proper character development and well-developed story arcs. Both shows were a visual treat, with great attention paid to music and color. Both shows were fresh and unique, something that seems to be lacking, across all networks.

Both of these wonderful programs are being left out to dry, while insipid shows like The Bachelor, somehow manage to keep coming back.

Attempts to save both shows have already sprung up. You can do your part at one of these sites:

Save Pushing Daisies (fan forum site here)
Save Pushing Daisies (fan blog here)
Save Eli Stone (petition now closed)
Save Eli Stone (fan forum site here)

HOORAY FOR JANUARY TV!

I love me some idiot box. I don't always have time for it, what with school and all (and I just have a VCR and the cheap Time Warner Cable). But three of my favorite shows are all coming back with new episodes next month:

Battlestar Galactica
After several years, and a wonderful saga, this visionary sci-remake will come to a close.


nip/tuck
Not always the best show, acting-wise, but always entertaining and fresh.

Damages
Although very few people watched this amazing drama, FX had the wisdom to bring it back for a second season, to tie up some great story lines and loose ends.

LATE TO THE GAME

OK, I'm back.

Yes, I know Donnie already blogged about this... and yes, I know there's a much funnier Australian version, but I just had to add my two cents about Kath & Kim, one of the few (if only) bright spots on NBC's new fall line up.

I like the show. It isn't perfect, but I like it well enough.

Every so often it drifts into caricature as opposed to character work, but nothing else on NBC worth watching (save the obvious, 30 Rock), I just thought I'd throw out my support for this show.

P.S. And I love that they use Scissor Sisters as the theme. What happened to them, anyway?