EVERYDAY IS LIKE...

This morning, I woke up, and clicked a random tune on iTunes... Everyday Is Like Sunday by Morrissey came up, setting the tone for another beautiful Sunday morning; hit the treadmill, down some b'fast and just lounge, soaking life up.

FOUR SHOTS OF FOUR MINUTES

Here are four screencaps from the new Madonna video, 4 Minutes featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland.

NONE OF THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE...

and it will never happen again. After a year of waiting, and three years of watching, Battlestar Galactica begins the long road home... tonight.

RANDOM QUESTION:

Do you sniff your clothes before you sort them, when doing laundry?

To see another set of hilarious images I almost used for this post, click here.

CRUSH OF THE MONTH: April

My crush of the month for April are the men of Battlestar Galactica. No matter what kind of guy you're in to, BSG has some sort of tasty man candy for you to enjoy... and most of them can act, too. (Actually, they all can. It is a shame many of these actors haven't seen much work outside this show, as they are so talented.) I've singled three men out for extra attention: the actors portraying Lee "Apollo" Adama, Karl "Heilo" Agathon and Sam Anders (shown in order, below).

For additional pictures of the cast of BSG, including an extra yummy one of Anders, click here.

NO, YOU CAN'T HAVE MORE TOWELS...

STEP WHAT UP, BRAVO?

If you watch TV - even only a handful of select shows, here and there - you're probably aware of Bravo TV. The Bravo TV network is one of the cable networks in the NBC - Universal family. It started out, before the shows about housewives and haircuts, as a network devoted to the performing arts... but now, it is the "high end," or, "high concept," reality show network.

Along with shows like Project Runway, Top Chef and The Real Housewives of Orange County, there are a number of new, largely contest-based reality shows. The newest, is a dance competition called, Step It Up And Dance, hosted by Elizabeth Berkley.

Bravo heavily promos the show on all of the NBC - Universal networks, in the hopes of driving up viewer interest. But two main thoughts creep in to my head when I see the commercials for SIU&D:

1. Another dance show? Really??? Is this the best you could come up with? Maybe you should step your game up, Bravo, and try and come up with something original. At least Fox, when they steal an idea, offers a twist: when ABC found viewer ratings gold with Dancing With The Stars, Fox rolled out Skating With The Stars. While neither show boasts actual "stars" on its cast, at least the second, ripoff show tried to aim for something new and interesting. What, exactly, is Bravo aiming for in rolling this show out?

2. Would it kill you to cast some good looking contestants, Bravo? I mean, this isn't Project Runway, where personal appearance doesn't factor in to the actual content of the contest. Dancers are cast for their talent and their looks. What's with the uggos? Have you seen Manuel, the weirdo? And while we're on this subject, what's with casting the guys who just have to brag about how they are straight in an all-gay field? Internalize your homophobia much, Bravo programmers? I guess not, as your self-hating homo tendencies now rise to the surface of casting.

I know which of these two concerns is the more serious... but if you're going to stuff bland, seen-it-before programs down our throats, how about a little eye candy to go with it?

EXCLUSIVE SNEEK AT NEW "STAR TREK"

These photos were sent to me, from one of the shoots for JJ Abrams' new movie, Star Trek. It appears to be the set for Starfleet Academy, with tons of blue screen special effects (on campus at CSUN). I must admit, I'm not a fan of Abrams' work, but I'm more and more curious to see this film.

THE SECRET OF "CASTAWAY"

I have to admit, when I tried watching Castaway, I couldn't handle that much Tom Hanks in one sitting. In fact, I would say this film falls somewhere in the top 50 most boring films I've ever seen. So I never gave any thought as to what was in the package Tom Hanks was delivering... until now. I was reading a trivia book (no jokes, Marz) that mentioned how you find out what was in that FedEx box: on disc two, there is an Easter Egg, or bonus, unmarked material on a DVD. According to the bonus feature, inside the box Hanks is delivering, when stranded on a desert island is: a satellite phone!

APRIL TUNES

Fuego (Album Version) The Cheetah Girls - The more I hear this song, the more I love it. Yes, it (heavily) samples Lionel Richie's All Night Long, but this song is a fresh take on a classic melody.

4 Minutes (Album Version) Madonna feat Justin Timberlake - I'm sad that Madonna is using this song to shill Sunsilk hair products, before the song is even out, but I must admit this song kinda rocks. Kinda...

I recently discovered a bunch of remixes by Bimbo Jones, one of my favorite remixers. Bimbo Jones takes hot pop music, and remixes the sh!t out of them (in a good way). Here are some of the remixes by B-Jones currently rocking my iPod:

Come Back To Me (Club Mix) Vanessa Hudgens
Piece Of Me (Club Mix) Britney Spears
Like A Boy (Club Mix) Ciara
U+Ur Hand (Club Mix) P!nk

Cities In Dust (Album Version) Siouxsie & the Banshees - A classic 80s alternative rock song, still rocking me out, after all these years. I'm not going to pretend to have been so cool as to have liked the song back then, but I remember loving the strange melody, and not knowing what the lyrics were. Now that I'm older, and I've tracked the song (and its lyrics) down, I love this song.

Do You Want To (Album Version / Mirwais Remix) Franz Ferdinand - This song came out a while ago, but something about its upbeat, crazy (mildly homo) energy gets me bouncing, first thing in the morning. Better than caffeine, if you ask me

Stranger (Smax & Gold Remix) Hilary Duff - I love, love, love this remix, and I've become borderline obsessed with it, when I'm driving. I'm not a huge Hilary Duff fan, but this last album of hers has some gems.

Hi N Bye (Smax & Gold Remix) Till West & Eddie Thoenick feat Alexandra Price - Another remix obsession of mine: great breaks, hot vocals and synths, but the disco string and horns breakdown in the middle is to die for.

APRIL IS FOR NERDS

It is a sad, sad sign of just how lame (and old) I am, that I'm so excited about Friday nights this month. No, I'm not planning on going out or anything. I'll be staying in, and watching TV. But not just any TV. This month sees the return of two of my favorite TV shows.

Battlestar Galactica enters its fourth, and final season this week. I'm sad to see the show go, but in the end, I think it is what's best: the show can go out on top, and not worry about getting stale, or run-down. I'm looking forward to the resolution of several plot arcs, and answers to several key questions about the show. (The opening credits always mention a Cylon plan... just what is that plan?)

Doctor Who is, hands-down, one of the best imports to American TV in a long time. Never mind the show has been running, in one form or another, for several decades... this newest incarnation rocks, and I can't wait to see what Cycle Four (Season Four to us Yanks) brings.

A couple of thoughts about both shows, both of which will air on Friday nights on the Sci Fi Channel: Both are in their fourth seasons, airing in the fourth month of the year. Nerdy of me to notice, huh? Both shows are re-makes of shows from another era, and both offer fresh, bold perspectives on their respective sub-genres. While both qualify as science fiction, one (BSG) offers a dark, post-modern take on human struggles, while the other (Dr Who) takes a more upbeat, and at times, comical look at man's place in the cosmos.

If it is a Friday night, you'll know where to find me...

SEPARATED AT BIRTH: Ginger Edition

Separated at birth: Jill, from The Real Housewives of New York City and the judge on People's Court?

For Volume One, click here.

UH... SAY THAT AGAIN?

President Bush threw out the first pitch at a baseball game in D.C. this weekend... and got booed. I'm not all that surprised that he was booed, but the surrounding media blitz, analyzing this fact was, well... interesting, to say the least.

The audio on the TV segments was hard to hear, but there were some, "boos" in there, for sure. The talking heads on the news debated what was the cause of the booing. (Take your pick, there are so many reasons to boo the moron in charge of our country.)

But what caught me off guard was the coverage on Fox News. They were comparing the booing of Bush to the standing ovation Obama's racist pastor got at a religious event the same weekend. One of the commentators said he understood why Bush was booed, citing, "Bush fatigue," adding:

"It doesn't surprise me - with all that's going on right now - that people are a little Bush-worn."

Uh, OK. I'm just going to let that one go.

A SIGN OF THE TIMES

While driving around recently, I've noticed more an more "foreclosure" and "bank-owned" for sale signs on houses in my community. It is one thing to hear about foreclosures and bank re-po's on the news and in the newspapers. But to actually see the impact in your neighborhood... it was a more than a little shocking.

HELP ME, PLEASE

I woke up this morning with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang stuck in my head, and I can't get it out. It isn't unusual for me to get a song stuck in my head all morning, but this... this is torture. I mean, I don't even really know the words.

THANKS, @SSHOLE!

President Bush, in one of his many economic speeches, mentioned his "stimulus package" was mean to off-set the decrease in American home values. For those of you actually getting one of these checks (I don't know anyone who qualifies, except my 71 year old grandmother), they will be worth $600 USD.

The average home value fell over 11 per cent this past year (the year the stimulus bonus is drawn from). With the average price of a home in the U.S. set at just over $200,000, that drop in value comes to about $20,000... which Bush gave them $600 to off-set.

Gee, thanks...

TIME GOES BY

And oh, how things change. That second picture pretty much sums up how I feel about Madonna these days. Don't get me wrong, I still rock out to her tunes - some recent ones, even - but as she approaches her 50s, I think it might be time to stop pretending she's a club kid, or that she hangs out in the ghetto.

YOU GO, SISTER WOMAN GIRLFRIEND

I love watching Comedy Central. From South Park, to the stand-up specials, it is one of my favorite channels. But one beef I have is with how male dominated this network is: it seems overrun by fat, obnoxious (and often very angry) white men.

Oh sure, they brought us The Sarah Silverman Show, but I dare anyone to tell me that show doesn't have a male slant, and male driven humor. (There are way too many scatological and genital references for the writers to be female.)

But every so often, they'll actually run a female comedian special One of my favorites is Kathleen Madigan. If you haven't seen her act, it is a riot. She is smart, funny and manages to deliver comedy that both men and women can enjoy. Her material is both accessible, and fresh - both in topic and delivery. And she manages to be funny without resorting to "persona" comedy, or hyper-character work. Her tales about her upbringing, American culture and observations about the world always leave me in stitches.

It is my sincere wish that comedians like Kathleen get more exposure in the mainstream media. But I think for that to happen, they must first receive proper support and exposure from within the comedy community. I realize stand up is a male-dominated field (like many others), but with over 50% of the population made of women, you think Comedy Central would try to court that audience by promoting and presenting more female comedians. Until that day comes, I'll keep watching Kathleen's specials.

Kathleen Madigan has several comedy albums available on iTunes. Her website is kathleenmadigan.com.

HONK HERE:

When you download files from Rapidshare, like I do, if you don't buy a premium membership, you have to enter a java-generated password each time you download for free. The passwords are supposed to be randomly generated, and vary from download to download. In reality, I've seen some passwords come up more than once. But they pretty much never spell any actual words... until the site generated this password:
Not that funny, but given the number of random combinations of letters and words the site can generate, and the fact that some of the nonsensical words have repeated, it is pretty amazing this word showed up at all.

RED MOON, BLUE BUTTOCKS

Here, as collected by the BRI, are actual English subtitles from films made in Hong Kong:

"Aha! I forget nothing. Elephant balls!"

"The wet nurse wants rock candy to decoct papayas."

"You really can't see the edges of the tea-bag underwear."

"A red moon? Why don't you just say "blue buttocks?'"

"Catherine is a nasbian!"

"Your dad is an iron worker, and your mom sells beans!"

"I am Urine Pot, the hero."

"I scare nothing! Even you become napkins!"