America got it wrong.

Again.

I say this every year about some contestant, and it rarely comes true, but I will definitely buy Carly Smithson's CD. I think the fact that I have her first album (and love it!) makes the promise slightly more believable this time around.

She'll be this year's Daughtry. Methinks her singing career is far from over.

Spoiler: if you haven't watched American Idol yet, don't read this.

*****

*****

*****

Are you freaking kidding me, America?

Michael Johns????

YOU SENT HOME MICHAEL JOHNS?!?!

My friend's e-mail pretty much sums up my thoughts, or lack of them, because this just doesn't compute:

"Michael Johns?! What the *$%#@?!!???

I can hardly talk...I am in shock."

I wasn't even this disappointed when I threw my water bottle at my TV when Chris Daughtry was eliminated.

I still haven't finished watching "Idol Gives Back."

But from what I've seen so far, this is my favorite moment. Dad Friday appreciated it also. We're probably the only two people in the country who caught it. Unless bro was watching. I'm going to assume he wasn't.

Better Late than Never

I don't want a single reader of girlfriday (insert self effacing remark about "all three of you") to miss this. I'm sure most of you have seen it and laughed your ever-loving butt off (and maybe cried a little) but just in case, as a courtesy to you who may have missed it (DAD), take a look.

"Rob Riggle goes undercover to report on Berkeley, CA's reaction to a new Marine recruiting station."



Read the comments on The Daily Show's website if you had any doubt about which direction Stewart's viewers swing.

I'd like to take a moment and ask the readers of this blog to teach me a thing or two.

1) I was just reading the delegate counts for each state on CNN (you can see it here), and I'm confused. It shows delegates given to each candidate from every state. Are primaries not a winner take all system? Do you still get the delegates who have pledged to vote for you even if you don't "take" the state? If so, why do we do that in our primaries and not our general election? Or am I just reading the site wrong? Also, if Obama happens to win the Texas caucus vote, he'll get more delegates, right?

2) Why all this sudden talk about NAFTA? It doesn't see like it's a topic that has gotten a particularly large amount of air time in recent years. How is our involvement in it a positive thing? How is it negative?

I realize I need to do my own research on these things, but I'd like to hear what y'all have to say first, so please do oblige me.

On a side note, my interest was unexpectedly piqued by a Ralph Nader interview on The Daily Show last night. Watch if you please, but I think he has some really interesting things to say, especially if you've ever found yourself thinking like a Libertarian at all.

I will be borrowing one of my husband's famous sweaters

"A tribute to children's public television pioneer Fred Rogers will include an effort to get people everywhere to wear a sweater on what would have been his 80th birthday.

March 20th is being promoted as "Sweater Day" to honor Rogers, who died of cancer five years ago. A sweater was his trademark garb on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."

[snip]

'Sweater Day' is the capstone to a six-day celebration planned by Family Communications Inc. of Pittsburgh. Rogers created the company to produce his show. "

It's all here. And I found the picture here. Thanks Molly!

"With an Arnold body and a Denzel face. . ."

No big surprise that the Coen Bros are the stars of the evening. I love how happy Frances McDormand is for them.

So it ran a little long. Only the last few minutes seemed to drag, but that one Coen guy was funny (Ethan? Joel? I don't know).

I enjoyed my Oscars-watching experience.

Did you?

Parenting, You "Make It Work."

Jane caught part of the first episode of the current season of Project Runway and apparently it struck a cord. I'm sure if I were to teach her what a designer is she would add that to her current list of occupations for her future life. In order, they are chef, doctor, teacher and then princess.

Tall Dark and Handsome was being a good father this evening - playing princess dolls with Jane. She then took things to the next level and wanted to play PR with her daddy and her dolls. TDH suggested they move the runway into the living room where he could mentally deal with this brand of quality playtime, in the form of CSPAN in the background.

I'm glad they skipped the process of reenacting making the designs.

Snow White: I just don't think Cinderella has what it takes.

Mulan: Omg. If I see another tube dress, I'm going to vomit.

She Wuz Robbed

Tonight another excellent designer was booted off Project Runway while an emotional lingerie designer lingers. We can handle emotional, it's the fact that all his designs are the equivelant of women's nightgowns that irritates.

This is the price you pay for watching reality television: you can't do a thing about what happens. You have to suffer. And you know it's stupid.

Those three things: inability to act, pain and suffering, and shame.

If you think reality tv is stupid, recall to mind this post. We pay the price for watching.

Sunday

I don't feel well today. Besides the physical evidence that something is wrong, I watched the entire Colts/Chargers game with my husband this afternoon.

It's nearly 8:00 and I'm not really better. I suspect I have some sort of sinus crap, which I don't recall ever having and I could have lived the rest of my life without it. (Still beats a stomach ache in my book.)

But tonight, after my husband has obliged me by giving me a foot rub, we're watching the first installment of the Masterpiece Theatre* Complete Works of Jane Austen on PBS.

That's really what this post was about. To tell you about it, in case you hadn't heard.

ADDED: We watched it, and we were disappointed. They crammed Austen's Persuasion into an hour and a half. That's shorter than the 1995 full-length feature, which was only 109 minutes long!

I feel misled. The Series is called "The Complete Works of Jane Austen," which implies a comprehensive look at her works, not highlights. I expected a masterpiece, a la the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice (which can't be topped, and PBS has wisely decided to air an encore performance rather than try).

Thankfully, as JEB points out in the comments, Captain Wentworth was easy on the eyes.

*Theatre is too sophisticated for today's audiences. The program is now called just Masterpiece.

The Truth is (Still) Out There.

This is just super duper.

And I like Muenster

And I like Ellen Degeneres. A lot. Even after her ridiculous, if not well-intentioned, celebrity antics this week.

If you haven't heard about it, you can read it here.

But I'll summarize: Ellen adopted a puppy from a non-profit rescue/adoption agency called Mutts and Moms. Said puppy couldn't get along with her cats, even after training. Ellen gave the dog to her hairstylist, a woman with two girls, ages 11 & 10, I believe. The catch? When Ellen adopted the puppy she signed a contract saying she would return the canine to the agency if there ever came a time when she could no longer keep the animal. Someone informed the agency that Ellen had given up the dog, and they showed up on Sunday and removed the dog from the family's home.

Ellen's response? A tearful opening monologue on Tuesday's show, begging the agency to return the dog to the family, as the two little girls are devastated. And did I forget to mention that Mutts and Moms also has a strict policy on not adopting out to families with children under the age of 14?

Now, I want to start by saying that I think Ellen does have the best of intentions in this fight: she wants the dog to be happy and well-taken care of. What bothers me is that by saying that's what she wants (in tears, nonetheless, and on a nationally syndicated talk show), she is implying that the agency does not want the same things for the dog.

But shouldn't one assume that these policies are so strictly enforced for the well-being of the dogs? Why would two women start a non-profit canine adoption agency if they didn't love dogs and didn't want to do their best to find them safe and happy homes?

The two female owners of Mutts and Moms are being unfairly maligned, and Ellen should be ashamed of the way she's handled the situation. The celebrity breaks a signed contract, and somehow the small business owners are the bad guys. It must be intimidating to stand up to one of the most well-liked celebrities in our country, but I applaud Mutts and Moms for standing their ground. They have a business to run, and what sort of message would they be sending to future clients if they allow their rules to be broken by celebrities who bully them with tears?

Sorry, Ellen, but I'm gonna have to chalk this fiasco up to another celebrity thinking they're above the rules.

Parent of the year

File this under "You Gotta Be Freakin' Kidding Me."

For the record, I do not watch "The Girls Next Door" on the E! network. I am, however, a compulsive channel surfer, an often find myself pausing on any number of shows that I arguably should not be watching (but in my defense it's often before I know what they are).

If you don't know -- and I REALLY hope you don't know -- the aforementioned show is of the reality variety. It follows the unfathomably shallow lifestyles of Hugh Heffner's three girlfriends. Sounds brilliant already, right?

As I'm channel surfing the other day, I stop on E! long enough to observe an autograph signing filmed inside a crowded mall. Here, many "GND" fans were gathered to meet and greet the three blondes. Among these were young girls, standing in line with their parents. "Bridgette (sp?) is my favorite!" a girl of about 12 years old beams.

YOUR FAVORITE WHAT?! More importantly, moms, what in the name of all that's good and decent in the world are you thinking? You should not allow your young girls to watch this rubbish, let alone pick a favorite Playmate and collect her autograph!

Am I going crazy? Is this not the most BASIC principle for parents? That principle being: Don't sit down as a family to watch TV programming that is not made for families (including but not limited to shows in which main characters take off their clothes on a regular basis so censors have to blur their private parts) and don't encourage your daughters to put on a pedestal any individual who got to where she is because she took off her clothes (including but not limited to women whose day-to-day existence revolves around primping, shopping and partying).

Well, I've gotten myself all worked up now. I think I'll go vomit again.

Friday Night Lights

Can you see me here, begging, dragging my knees across shag carpet to ask you to tune into this show so NBC doesn't kill it! (Next Episode, Monday, October 30.) It is so good and so worth your while. You don't have to love football to watch.

Here's what you get:

* Small town life that isn't made up, put down, laughed at or condescended to
* Football games up close and personal
* Brooding teenagers
* Southern drawls
* Teenagers with manners (who knew!)
* Teenagers with character (those too??)
* Kyle Chandler as the coach - tousled hair, worried expression, nice "jawline"
* Movie-like tight shots and the entire show shot in letterbox
* Wind sprints in the pouring rain at night
* Lines like this (shouted at kids doing wind sprints in the poring rain at night): "You think you're somethin' 'cause you got a free piece of pie a the diner last night!!!???!!! Well you're NOT!!!"
* Diner shots of people eating pie they paid for
* Booster Club parents who you want to punch
* Kyle Chandler (have I mentioned him?)
* Dueling quarterbacks
* God (no really, they pray before games)
* Pretty cheerleaders named "Lila"
* Sexy cheerleaders named "Tyra"
* Interior shots of homes that look like the homes you and I live in, not the homes of people living on Hollywood sets
* Tear jerking moments like the one when quarterback Matt Saracen's dementia-addled grandmother is brought back home to the house they share, after walking into someone else's house and taking a bath. She cries against his shoulder as he walks her to the front door.
* Very few shots of IPods or Playstations
* Men teaching boys to be men
* Football

Tune in! Next Monday, Oct. 30!

P.S. - B, K, and L in Austin, if you are watching "Dancing with the Stars" instead of this then you have no business cheering for the Longhorns!