Kat with a K

Endnotes (7/26/10)

The Sweet Valley Ten Years Later site is up!

Someone named Chord Overstreet has been cast on Glee. Really, the newsworthy part of this is that there exists someone named Chord Overstreet.

Endnotes (7/23/10)

I'm still bitter about The Bridge, but I'm thrilled that Aaron Douglas has found a new job already! He'll be on Hellcats (CW; premieres 9/8), which doesn't necessarily seem like an obvious fit for him, but I'm happy because it's a show I was already planning to try, so this news doesn't disrupt my carefully-constructed fall schedule.

Want to know who's playing Booth's on Bones? Here you go.

The Library of America has a new blog.

RIP Daniel Schorr.

Curt Schilling outed a bunch of MLB players as World of Warcraft players. Scandal!

Endnotes (7/22/10)

CBS picked up Chaos for midseason. More spies!

John Mayer will be "recreating the sound of Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks." Feel free to run in horror now.

CBS Fall Premiere Dates! Finally.

My friend Erin has good taste in music. So you should go look at her picks for best albums of 2010 (so far).

Like vampire stuff? Want to help support oil spill recovery? Get your awareness bracelet here.

Sarah Palin's New Hampshire problem

Endnotes (7/21/10)

L.J. Smith is writing another Vampire Diaries trilogy. Set in the book universe, not the show universe. Whee.

Hey look! Alyssa on NPR!

Emily Bazelon: What Really Happened to Phoebe Price?

Taylor Swift has a new album coming out in October. First single out in August. Whee.

Caterina Scorsone (a.k.a. Derek's sister) is becoming a regular on Private Practice.

I'm reasonably happy about the results of the Tater Top awards.

Endnotes (7/20/10)

Rob Lowe is going to be in a new movie.

MTV's If You Really Knew Me, about trying to break down barriers between different groups in high school, actually sounds kind of interesting. It premieres tonight; I'll check it out if I remember to set the TiVo.

I perhaps get a little too excited about 7th Heaven alums (see: yesterday's Tyler Hoechlin freakout), but Beverley Mitchell joining Secret Life might actually make me start watching it again. Darn you, ABC Family.

UltraViolet sounds kind of interesting.

The Girl's Guide to Comic-Con Not that I'm going to Comic-Con, but, you know, I can dream.

Rob Lowe's buying Miramax?? What isn't Rob Lowe doing? It seems like I've had Rob Lowe news every other day, recently. Wait, twice today! (I wrote the beginning of this post last night, so I forgot that was on here.)

Endnotes (7/19/10)

Spencer Ackerman makes a good point about the Ground Zero mosque plans.

Rochelle Aytes from The Forgotten will be on Detroit 1-8-7, which may make me slightly more likely to watch it.

Some info on MTV's new Teen Wolf show. Tyler Hoechlin!!! (Okay, I maybe got a little too excited about that.)

Bai Ling is wearing, like, clothes. It's astonishing.

Sarah Palin Endorses Kelly Ayotte

Would you like to see every Doctor Who villain in convenient spreadsheet form? Of course you would.

Endnotes (7/18/10)

More from Ian Somerhalder on the oil spill. And Carina Mackenzie also talked to Katerina Graham.

The Great Gatsby is now a video game.

Vulture’s Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Type Guide to Casting Sensitive Geeks

Why are Boston accents so hard?

Happy Birthday, Kristen Bell!

Jezebel defends Taylor Momsen, and I'm pretty convinced.

Endnotes (7/16/10)

A giant timeline of sci fi events.

More on the John Edwards movie.

I figured this was coming, but I somehow didn't expect Will Smith to be the one to do it: a vampire Bible movie.

The latest from the annotated White House flickr feed.

Endnotes (7/15/10)

Gail Collins on Bristol Palin's engagement is, as one might expect, hilarious.

Alex Tagliani has a Hot Wheels car! I mean, an actual race car, painted to look like a Hot Wheels car. Awww.

NBC fall premiere dates

The CW has picked up a Canadian show called 18 to Life, about teenagers who get married on a dare. And . . . I will watch it. Of course I will. Because it's the CW. And Canadian! Premieres August 3.

This picture of Katherine Heigl as Stephanie Plum is actually somewhat less horrifying than I'd expected.

Prince Harry with a puppy

Endnotes (7/14/10)

If you care: Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston are engaged. Best of luck to them. (Okay, I honestly have nothing against them and hope their marriage succeeds, but this post from The Awl was too hilarious not to link.)

I've never liked Twitter's redesigned retweets. One of the reasons I use Brizzly, in fact.

Will Breaking Dawn be in 3D? God, I hope not.

Haley Barbour? Really? This is actually happening?

I haven't watched Covert Affairs yet, but this review includes a much-deserved Tim Matheson tribute.

Amanda Seyfried is starring in a sci fi romance, and I should be interested in this, because I like Amanda Seyfried and I like sci fi romances, but I can't get past the fact that it is called I'm.mortal.

Oh, no. The author of The Secret has a new book coming out.

Taylor Momsen is the face of Madonna and Lourdes's new line for Macy's. OF COURSE she is. Maybe this means someone will start making her wear pants! But perhaps that's too much to hope.

EVERYONE EVER is doing voice work for The Super Hero Squad Show. George Takei! Jane Lynch! Katee Sackhoff! Mark Hamill! Jonathan Frakes! Michael Dorn! John Barrowman! James Marsters! Nina Dobrev! This is ridiculous. In an awesome way.

Endnotes (7/13/10)

Via my friend Sophie, a sign of the apocalypse: Cargo leggings.

All these pearl-clutching stories about Forever 21's new maternity line are kind of enraging. Because, you know, how dare young pregnant women have decent clothes to wear? Obviously we must SHAME THEM at all times. Gah.

FOX fall premiere dates! Nothing really surprising, except maybe Lie to Me in November. But I'm not complaining, because maybe if it starts in November I'll have time to start watching it.

Happy birthday, Steven R. McQueen!

Carina MacKenzie has a bunch of news about the next season of Glee here. And I'm happy about virtually all of it.

Endnotes (7/12/10)

I was fairly hopeful about Rizzoli & Isles (premiering tonight on TNT), but Dan Fienberg's hilarious review has me considerably less excited about the show. Also, I tried to read the first of the books that form the source material over the weekend, and couldn't get into it.

I really want this Comic-Con TV Guide special issue. Especially the one with the Vampire Diaries cover.

The next Doctor Who Christmas special sounds pretty exciting.

Rookie Blue has already been renewed. Some day I will get around to watching the episodes sitting on my TiVo.

Season two of The Vampire Diaries is now officially in production, and we have a picture of Ian Somerhalder's script to prove it. The first episode seems to be called "The Return." Let the speculation about its similarities to the Smith novel The Return begin!

Dear Lord, there are even more Teen Choice Award nominations. Stop the madness!

How do we choose in the battle of the hot CW guys supporting animal rescue? Because it's Jared Padaleck vs. Ian Somerhalder in Chase's Community Giving contest. Just kidding; I was always on Team Jess on Gilmore Girls, anyway, and I haven't started watching Supernatural yet (although I will as soon as Netflix sends me a disc), so I'm on Team Somerhalder all the way here.

Via Matt Yglesias: World War II Marred By Poor Plotting and Unrealistic One-Dimensional Characters

Endnotes (7/11/10)

Remember Chore Wars? Epic Win looks like that but better. I'm kind of intrigued, because there is nothing I love more than a good to-do list.

Your cute news of the day: soldiers rescuing kittens.

News that sounds like it was written for me: Rob Lowe and Flavio Briatore to found media empire. Whoa.

I couldn't figure out what that picture of Blake Lively in the flowery dress reminded me of, but YES, it was EXACTLY like what Dawn would wear in that "babysitters on the beach" super special.

What we've all been waiting for: John Le Carre on the spy swap.

Dana Stevens takes a look at the sexual politics of Grease.

Apparently they're going to make a "tougher" South Pacific. I'm not sure how I feel about that. Oh, my God, and there's news about a new Tinker Tailor at the same link. With Gary Oldman as Smiley. And Colin Firth as . . . something. I really don't know how to feel about that one.

Endnotes (7/9/10)

June Thomas on the Emmy nominations

Does football affect elections?

The latest from Lizzie Skurnick, one of my favorite critics: Listicle Without Commentary: The 45 Greatest Teen Titles You Have Never Heard of From the Era When They All Mentioned "I," "Me," "You" or Some Other Key Person That Are Not 'Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret'

Another funny-but-wise Eclipse review, passed along by Liz. Also, THIS:

It is explained that newborn vampires are stronger than older vampires, because of the human blood that lingers in their tissues. Which is just bullshit. I have never, ever seen a vampire mythos in which age doesn’t confer strength. Underworld. The Vampire Chronicles. The Last Vampire. The Sookie Stackhouse Novels. Older vampires are stronger, faster, deadlier than younger vampires.

My boss is really into Jared Leto, so I take delight in linking to anything called What the Hell was Jared Leto Wearing?

Apparently, those of us who want to watch the last two episodes of Happy Town have to do so on Hulu. Sigh.

Shortest press release in CBS history

Endnotes (7/8/10)

Robert Kubica has extended his contract with Renault, which is actually more interesting than it sounds. I mean, if you care about this sort of thing.

Beck takes on Eat, Pray, Love.

The rise of Christian fundamentalism in the Horn of Africa. (h/t Jamelle)

Dave Weigel tells his story.

ABC has announced most of its fall premiere dates.

Endnotes (7/7/10)

Sepinwall's review of The Bridge isn't exactly glowing, but it intrigued me enough that I'll probably check it out. And hey, Aaron Douglas! (Okay, I'll give BSG one thing - for all that it annoyed me, I do get awfully excited when I see its actors on other shows.)

"Interesting articles about squirrels" are something I tend to skip, but when John Dickerson tells me to click, I click. And it actually is pretty interesting.

Speaking of tumblr, I'm not at all surprised that this exists, but I hadn't come across it until today, so in case you hadn't either: Fuck Yeah Ian Somerhalder

Salon takes on Twilight fan fiction.

Endnotes (7/6/10)

Jezebel has a gallery of completely trashy beach reading. Shockingly, I've only read one book on the list (The Other Boleyn Girl). Must get on that.

Dana Stevens has a very interesting and thoughtful review of Eclipse. Jezebel has minute-by-minute mocking. I suggest you read both.

Javier Bardem on Glee? Wheee!

Just last night, I was wishing Jezebel would do a "what to wear to your reunion" thing. And hey, look, they did!

Reclaiming the real meaning of "tea party:" a movement I can get behind.

Gail Collins has a brilliant July 4th quiz.

Endnotes (7/2/10)

NPR reads the Declaration of Independence. Awesome.

Alyssa says: Turn PBS into BBC One. I say: Yes, please.

Surprise of the Summer: Pretty Little Liars Is Actually Great I'm not sure I'd go so far as "great," but yeah.

Best non-story of the day: White Collar’s Matt Bomer wants Vampire Diaries Ian Somerhalder’s Hair. It ends with: "Next up, could Somerhalder please feel compelled to put on a wet T-shirt like Bomer? We’ll be standing by." We will indeed.

Now this has REALLY gone too far: Woman Blames Car Crash on Vampire. Or, as my friend Christine just said, "I thought Damon was behaving? Don't tell Bonnie!"

McLaren: Our drivers love each other. Really. We promise.

I have been worrying about the effect that differing spelling of names have on name popularity rankings for at least twenty years. (I am not even joking. Not even a little.) So I cannot tell you how relieved I am to discover that I am not the only one.

I ask, once again: Where the hell are Taylor Momsen's parents?

Endnotes (6/29/10)

Some guy in DC cooked some stuff. And apparently Politico felt this warranted an article. What? WHAT??? Are they trying to become a parody of themselves? (And have they never seen the Internet Food Association? Guys [and girls] in DC cook all the time!)

I'm in the middle of the first volume of Stieg Larsson's trilogy, so I was interested to see this NYT article about him and his estate.

Ian Somerhalder is doing . . . something nonspecific . . . with Go Green Mobile Power. Is he investing? It's kind of unclear. But anyway, good for him! And part of his plan is to transfer the Vampire Diaries to green energy sources.

I just watched Justin Bieber's new video because Katerina Graham is in it, and honestly, my main reaction was "Will someone please get that child's hair out of his eyes?" I'm so old.

Apparently Rob Lowe is involved - producing? unclear - with a reality show about young Washingtonians called Potomac Fever. Really? Really? Maybe they'll cook! Also, it doesn't look like there's anyone political on the potential cast list, so I think I'm missing the point. Or maybe they are.

10 Baffling Twilight Products

This review of Eclipse is harsher than I would probably be, but makes a bunch of very sound points, especially about the messages these movies send to young girls.

I love the Vampire Academy books, so I am approaching this news of a possible movie with cautious optimism.

A week ago, everyone reported that Glee reality show plans had been scrapped, and I was happy. But now it sounds like they're back on. Sigh.

Paging John Le Carre: The 8 Coolest Things About the Alleged Russian Spy Ring

Russell T. Davies has been known to lie about Doctor Who stuff. Please please PLEASE let this Johnny Depp as the Doctor thing be one of those lies.

Meg Cabot on vampires

Endnotes (6/28/10)

Okay, I like a lot of people on this list, but any list that has Alex O'Loughlin as the Number One TV Hunk of All Time makes me highly suspicious. Since this poll was conducted via Twitter and blog comments and stuff, I'm assuming his fans are just well-organized.

From the Daily Beast: Hot princes. Yup.

Hah. The WSJ tweeted that the Supreme Court struck down Sarbanes-Oxley. Yeah, not so much.

Honestly, I am all for regulating baby names.

Little Edie Beale's childhood diary is being published in August. I cannot wait.

Rob Lowe is writing a memoir. Insert "hope he doesn't quit halfway through" joke here.

Endnotes (6/22/10)

Look at the cast of The Double: Martin Sheen, Richard Gere, Topher Grace, Stephen Moyer, Stana Katic. Wow.

Here's a poster for The Social Network (the Aaron Sorkin Facebook movie).

I can't decide whether I want to read a YA novel about Anne Frank's sex life.

Jason O'Mara has been cast as the lead in Terra Nova. You know, the Spielberg/Braga/Avatar dinosaurs-from-the-future nonsense. Okay, it might not be that bad. Maybe.

Endnotes (6/18/10)

I don't particularly care about Angelina Jolie or Johnny Depp, but this headline was funny enough to make me click (Good job, EW!): Breaking: Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp have good hair in 'The Tourist' And look at that! Their hair is gorgeous. Wow.

Alexander Skarsgard will star in Battleship. I'm still amused at the whole concept of a movie based on that game, but now I am also relieved, because I first read the headline as "Battlestar" and I was gravely worried that they were making MORE Battlestar Galactica.

ABC Family is developing a show about young spies training at Harvard. Could be fun.

Um, huh. Bobby Fischer paternity drama! They're exhuming his remains in Iceland! Who knew?

Margin Call is certainly casting a lot of pretty, pretty men.

Endnotes (6/17/10)

This Andrew Cuomo/Sandra Lee thing continues to mystify me, and apparently his mom agrees. Lasagna made with tomato soup and cottage cheese? That's just wrong.

Dogs are barking in novels all over the place.

John Dickerson loves Foyle's War. I mean, come on. Everyone should love Foyle's War.

Bill Richardson isn't President, but that means he had time to perform the marriage ceremony of Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart. So, you know, silver linings.

The Breaking Dawn screenwriter swears there will be no graphic sex or birth scenes in the movies, which is kind of odd because really, does anyone remember anything except graphic sex and birth scenes from that book?

Okay, the MGM nonsense messing with James Bond and The Hobbit was one thing, but if it means Cabin in the Woods will be indefinitely delayed, then they really need to resolve things, because how dare they keep us from seeing Bradley Whitford in a Joss Whedon movie?

This Glee/Grey's Anatomy crossover idea is kind of brilliant.

Toy Story 3 sounds really good.

Wagner's influence on film scores

Do girls like Edward Cullen because he encourages Bella to eat?

Endnotes (6/16/10)

Katherine Heigl seems to be downplaying the amount of mystery in One for the Money, which is, ah, distressing. Seeing as how it's based on a mystery novel and all.

Comic Sans strikes back, hilariously.

Vampire fan? Want to support Gulf Aid? Here are shirts.

Stephen Collins, the dad from 7th Heaven will be a regular on No Ordinary Family. Marcos Siega is supposed to be involved too, and I have to say, those two things both make me more excited about this show.

Princes William and Harry with a snake.

Endnotes (6/14/10)

Apparently the ladies of Friends ate Cobb salads for lunch every day for ten years. Now you know!

TWoP on Pretty Little Liars.

Remember how Coldplay wouldn't let Glee use their music? Yeah, they've totally changed their minds.

Endnotes (6/13/10)

Here's another funny vampire show comparison. And another: True Blood vs. Vampire Diaries. I finally gave in and added True Blood to my Netflix queue.

Ha! Joss Whedon's 25 favorite TV character (that weren't on his shows) include at least two of my favorites, and the list is rather amusing overall: "5) Josh Lyman from the West Wing. Another 'throw a stone, hit a favorite', but Josh has a thing. That thing is called Donna."

The William and Kate drama continues.

HBO showed the first trailer for The Game of Thrones tonight. I'm kind of excited about it. Not that I get HBO.

I don't think I ever saw the original Fright Night, but the cast of the remake is looking pretty great.

Don't understand how the tournament in Glee was supposed to work, exactly? Don't worry. No one else does either.

USAhas a new cop show. On the one hand, USA has been coming out with really good shows recently. On the other, I'm not sure how many more cop shows I can bring myself to care about, or even keep straight in my head.

Endnotes (6/11/10)

All you need to know about this story is "Rogue knitters encamped along the Berkeley-Oakland border" . . .

Zachary Quinto in Angels in America? Sounds good.

Glee and copyright

Because it's a Joss Whedon movie, there have actually been headlines about the fact that the IMDb cast list for Cabin in the Woods now has more information on it.

So here's this Robert Pattinson cross stitch pattern. On the one hand, I want to mock it. But on the other hand, I once totally bought a cross stitch magazine because it had a Mr. Darcy pattern. And if it were a different vampire actor - Ian Somerhalder instead of Pattinson, say - I would seriously consider buying it, so I feel like a hypocrite for mocking. On the OTHER other hand, I would happily make the case for The Vampire Diaries being in all ways superior to Twilight, so I feel justified. So! There are my ridiculously ambivalent thoughts on that.

Lea Michele as Dorothy: Best voice casting ever? YES.

These bedrooms of Twilight fans are a bit terrifying.

I agree with most of this review of Pretty Little Liars, especially this:

But they're bad girls in an ABC Family way that seems quaint and almost cutely naive compared to that the snobby socialites of "Gossip Girl," also an Alloy literary property, get into.

Lowe, Combs and Leighton are such pros that you immediately start caring more about the parents and their secrets than the mismatched teens.

Endnotes (6/10/10)

If you only read one thing today, read Maureen Johnson's manifesto about the Internet.

Was Battlestar Galactica Star Trek done right? No. It was not.

The Spoiler Police need to calm down.

I was undecided about watching the Tonys, but now I obviously have to.

Bittman writes an open letter to an unnamed chef.

Endnotes (6/9/10)

Here's a first look at Showtime's Borgias.

I managed to read several news stories about Q'orianka Kilcher's arrest at the White House before I even remembered that I'd seen The New World, and I still remember very little about it. Apparently I successfully blocked that traumatic experience from my brain. (I saw it with a friend, and I have vivid memories of the German apple pancake and caramel sauce we made the same weekend. Presumably because that was good, and the movie was bad.)

Is anyone surprised that Glee novels are on the way? No? Didn't think so. (I'm sure they'll be bad, and I'm sure I'll read them anyway.)

What the heck is wrong with South Carolina recently?

Slate is doing a serialized YA vampire novel. Whee!

Which vampire cast is hotter? I think we know where I stand on this.

Five Secrets about the Glee Finale

Endnotes (6/8/10)

Vote in the TV.com NOW Awards.

The new Muppet movie is coming out Christmas 2011.

Stop saying you don't have time to read.

Endnotes (6/7/10)

Need refreshments for your next gaming session? Jones now has D&D soda. That's pretty awesome.

Your weekly "Gail Collins is brilliant" announcement: Here she is on South Carolina and upcoming primaries.

Here are Television Without Pity's Emmy nomination suggestions. I am particularly pleased with their inclusion of Ian Somerhalder, Peter Krause, and Matthew Morrison.

Here's a fascinating look at young American dancers training at the Bolshoi Academy.

The Indian-American Minor League Spelling Bee Circuit

Rahm Emanuel, Joe Biden, and Super Soakers You're welcome.

Endnotes (6/4/10)

Prince of Persia sounds awful, but this review is hilarious.

Have you ever wondered which Austen heroines Jay MacInerney prefers? No? Neither had I. But now you can find out.

The Departed Names of 2009

How to Complain About The New Yorker's 20 Favorite Writers Under 40

The pool reporters had an interesting evening in Chicago.

Endnotes (6/1/10)

The Robert Gates-Hillary Clinton axis

What will happen to the special relationship under Britain's new coalition government?

I know the point of this is that people are up in arms about the message of a bride being given away by her father, but - Princess Victoria is marrying her personal trainer? Really? Hee.

Jonathan Frakes wants to do a Star Trek: Titan miniseries

Endnotes (5/28/10)

HitFix didn't like the new Muse video much.

This sort of post is a perfect example of why I love Jezebel.

Do you ever get tired of articles about Swedish murder mysteries? I don't.

There's a font of Robert Pattinson's handwriting. This is terrifying.

Endnotes (5/20/10)

These newly unveiled London Olympics 2012 mascots are extremely creepy.

Here's the CW fall schedule. New: Hellcats and Nikita. At this point, I'll try an episode or two of any new CW show, just in case.

Smart Pop is coming out with a Vampire Diaries book. Ooh, and look, there will be a ">2011 Wall Calendar. Yes, I realize I'm ten years out of the target demographic here, but I want it anyway.

Did you know there's a huge controversy over whether to put jam on scones first, then cream, or cream and then jam? Well, there is.

Check out Android's newest release, Froyo. (Thanks to Jamelle for passing along the link.)

Yes, Mom, Rodgers and Hammerstein have been in a lot of commercials recently.

Endnotes (5/18/10)

Like Alyssa, I don't even know what to say about this. Hamlet! Vampires! Law and Order! Wait, what?

Tracking ice cream availability: the best use of RFID to date?

Jamie Bamber has a new show and it sounds disconcertingly like BSG. But British! So maybe it will be good!

ABC's fall schedule is out. There are several new shows I'll probably try, but I'm not really wildly excited about any of them.

Awww! Cute knitted tofu!

Endnotes (5/17/10)

Rudy Giuliani is coming back to New Hampshire. Because that went so well for him last time?

FOX picked up a bunch of new shows today, and there are even a few that involve neither cops nor Texas. Here you go. Related: I said this to a friend at lunch and it totally sounded like a joke but wasn't: "Did you hear about the show Stephen Spielberg is making with Brannon Braga and people from Avatar? About dinosaurs? Set in the future?" Yeah.

Oh, this is useful: TV Guide's fall schedule, which will be updated as news is released.

This one is for a certain little Esther who was born yesterday: Baby's Touch 'n Feel Guide to Russian Literature

I'm not sure if there's a particular reason why it seems to be Mormon day at Slate, but these are both interesting: The Great Mormon Novel and Chloroform in Print

Endnotes (5/15/10)

TNT has picked up a new Mark-Paul Gosselaar legal show. Because the last one went so well?

TWoP gallery: Vampire Diaries: Why It's One of TV's Most Addictive Shows

I know I always say this, but I really, really love Gail Collins. Here she is on new gun laws.

Lautenberg has a knack for proposing laws against things that most people would presume were illegal already. You may remember him from such past hits as "Let's Not Let Convicted Felons Buy Weapons at Gun Shows" and "Don't Sell Assault Rifles to People on the Terrorist Watch List."

As is Gratuitous Ed Westwick Photography. (Hey, the post title is even a Beatles reference!)

Via Robin Wasserman, a children's book title trivia game. (I got 100%, with a few minutes to spare. Not to brag or anything.)

Taylor Momsen - you may know her as Jenny Humphrey - wants to be John Lennon. Um, good luck with that, sweetie. May I suggest you start by occasionally going out in public fully clothed?

Watch WWII unfold day-by-day through UK Cabinet Papers from 1940 at @ukwarcabinet. (h/t Liz)

Endnotes (5/13/10)

Apparently Google is going to officially allow Android phones to work as Wi-Fi hotspots. This is perhaps the most exciting news I've heard all week, and given everything else going on this week, that's saying a lot. (h/t Jamelle)

I've only been paying cursory attention to the Newsweek/Kristin Chenoweth flap about gay actors, but if you're interested, Aaron Sorkin has now weighed in. Of course he has.

Could Ian Somerhalder be any more adorable? Well, actually, I'm sure he'll manage. But this interview about how he became "one of those actors with a political agenda" in the wake of the oil spill is really good. (There's some good Vampire Diaries stuff there too.)

More Ian Somerhalder: a photo gallery of his best roles. (I guess Marco Polo doesn't make the cut.) And here's another nice profile, although calling Damon Salvatore "fully clothed" is a bit of a stretch.

E-mail I just got: "Friendster launches Massive Multiplayer Online Games!" Really? REALLY? The only time I remember Friendster exists is when they e-mail me. And I think they mean games like, you know, Farmville. Sigh.

5 Episodes to Rewatch Before the Bones Finale

Endnotes (5/12/10)

This review feels pretty much the way I do about Happy Town right now, which is to say, WHAT THE HELL?

Derek Jacobi is joining The Borgias? Yes, please.

At this rate, FOX should soon rename itself the Texas and/or cop network.

Endnotes (5/11/10)

I've been watching Happy Town but kind of hating myself for it, so it will more or less be a relief when it gets cancelled. On that note: ABC is taking it off the air until June, after this week. Then it looks like five more episodes and it's done.

"Save Our Show" Stunts Are Dumb

Over at Alyssa's, Dara has a good response to my HIMYM post.

I searched for "Damon Salvatore" on YouTube (shush) and was perhaps too surprised to find that I am not the only one who thinks of him when I hear "Cowboy Casanova."

Endnotes (5/7/10)

NBC has picked up a few shows for fall. Scott Patterson (Luke Danes)!

Speaking of the Twilight phenomenon leading to more airtime for things I like, the CW will be airing reruns of Moonlight this summer.

Hot Guys Reading Books

Endnotes (5/6/10)

As usual, you should read Gail Collins:

Yes, if you are on the terrorist watch list, the authorities can keep you from getting on a plane but not from purchasing an AK-47. This makes sense to Congress because, as Graham accurately pointed out, "when the founders sat down and wrote the Constitution, they didn't consider flying."

Shorter Alyssa Rosenberg: Bones is awesome.

Endnotes (5/5/10)

Undercovers looks like it will be worth a try.

Congratulations (belatedly) to Janel Moloney and Marcelo Zarvos on the birth of Julian Francis. Valentine's Day baby! Aww!

Basically, any time Ezra Klein writes about how restaurants should have more vegetarian options, I will link to it.

Endnotes (5/1/10)

Hey, look, it's the exact news everyone expected! Now that they own Palm, HP is forgetting about that Windows 7 tablet nonsense.

Google may be developing an OS for your television. Hm. Okay. Once again, I welcome my Google overlords.

Oh, yay! Finn on Glee WILL be singing "Jesse's Girl"! I'd been hoping.

How Hollywood Presidents Would Solve America’s Problems

Endnotes (4/29/10)

Mike Allen: Hobo or Robot?

Remember that HuffPo "best book people on Twitter" thing? Here's a follow-up that includes a bunch of great people they left out of the first one.

Wait wait wait. Austin is only the 63rd most fun city in the country, but Bridgeport is number 15? I call shenanigans. Have they been to Bridgeport?

Dana Stevens hilariously reviews The Back-up Plan:

"But at least it's not reprehensible, misogynistic, or cynical, and the lead couple isn't made up of a shrill female narcissist and a proudly slovenly male lug. I wouldn't go so far as to recommend this movie, but if you were tied down and forced to watch it, you wouldn't necessarily have to chew off your own leg to get away."

I had somehow missed these Vampire Diaries liveblogs until now, but they're awesome:

"I think we'll all have to disagree with Stefan's earlier statement about not-touching being overrated. Damon and Elena are proving that touching is completely unnecessary. That wasn't an earthquake you just felt, it was just the result of millions of Stefan/Elena fans falling to their knees in surrender."

Endnotes (4/28/10)

The idea of Sandra Lee as First Lady of New York fills me with horror for some reason I can't pin down. Maybe it's just because I keep picturing her tablescapes in the Governor's Mansion.

Who's to blame for the way American Idol keeps running long and messing up Glee?

I don't know anything about the DC restaurant in question, but Ackerman's devastating review is worth reading anyway.

Tuning instruments is more complicated than you thought.

Endnotes (4/27/10)

I'm having computer issues, so posting might be sporadic for a bit.

Celebrity Jeopardy: Neil Patrick Harris, Jane Kaczmarek, and Cheech Marin, all together? Wow.

News you need: Courtney Love texted Aaron Sorkin. I fear no good can come of this.

Here's a nice little interview with Kristin Chenoweth.

Prius minivan! I'm not quite sure why I'm excited about that, but I am.

10 Most Anticipated TV Kisses (That Have Actually Happened) Here's the order I'd put them in: 3, 1, 9, 2, 8. (Didn't watch the other 5.)

What I want to do for my birthday: Go see Promises, Promises.

Endnotes (4/21/10)

If you're only going to read one article about the upcoming British elections, read this one.

The Food Network is spinning off a Cooking Channel, but from this article it doesn't necessarily sound like most of the content will be cooking-related. Hunh?

How to Correctly Pronounce Authors' Names

Here's the big Times Magazine piece on Mike Allen. I think I'm going to wait and actually read it in my paper copy on Sunday.

Endnotes (4/20/10)

Tom Hanks sent the White House press corps a new espresso machine.

Parenthood has been renewed for a second season. That probably means I should catch up, huh?

Mystery writer Kathy Reichs is coming out with a YA series. Interesting.

Endnotes (4/19/10)

Sorry, forgot to publish this last night...

Pretzel M&Ms? Yes please.

I've been meaning to read Robert Harris's Pompeii since it came out. Maybe the upcoming miniseries will prompt me to actually do it.

Gail Collins on Attorneys General as candidates. No, really, it's hilarious. Read it.

This whole legislating thing seems to be harder than Scott Brown anticipated.

Endnotes (4/18/10)

Whoa. It's a teensy tiny Enterprise.

The Forbes Fictional 15

Agatha Christie certainly had some odd writing methods.

Endnotes (4/16/10)

TWoP has had a lot of good galleries recently, it seems. Here's TV's Worst Towns. Oh, and here's Quit When Ahead: TV Shows That Should've Ended Sooner. This entry for Life Unexpected is perfect:

The very first episode was practically perfect: sweet, romantic and utterly charming. We instantly fell for the little abandoned teen that had reunited with her birth parents and wormed her way into their lives. But then a mere week later, we realized what a brat she was, how grating her mother was, how dopey her dad was and how very much we hated everything to do with this town and its mysteriously popular morning radio program.

I'm one of those dorks who loves the game Concentration, so I was delighted to find this In Plain Sight version.

Not The Onion: Stranded leader runs country by iPad

Endnotes (4/14/10)

Swoon: Geithner plays cricket. You're welcome.

Cats Love iPads I'd be worried about the screen...

Hate cilantro? It might be genetic. Except not necessarily, because I used to hate it and now I love it, to the extent that reading this article prompted me to eat salsa for breakfast.

Five Ingredients That Make USA Network Shows Work I've been catching up on some of these shows, and honestly, USA might be my new favorite channel.

Don't be fooled by the title; this piece is delightful: Diary of a 'Food Racist'

TWoP cast Whedon favorites in The Avengers. Yes, please.

Endnotes (4/13/10)

I started this Monday, forgot to post, added to it Tuesday, and forgot to post again last night. So I'm just putting it out there now so I can start a new Wednesday post.

Apparently Bones and a bunch of other FOX shows I don't care about are doing musical episodes. This confuses me because I thought Hart Hanson had said he'd never do a musical episode, but maybe I'm confusing him with a different showrunner. Hmm.

12 Best Adult TV Characters Seen as Kids The best, of course, inexcusably left out of this gallery (because she's British?) is Julia Joyce, who played young versions of Billie Piper characters at least three times (Doctor Who, Mansfield Park, The Ruby in the Smoke).

This TWoP piece on Gossip Girl plotlines to be revived or killed off is spot on.

Aaron Sorkin's Moneyball might finally be getting underway. And yes, this: "Michael Lewis’ fantastic book is full of tense, high-stakes scenes where characters spew jargon, and backstories and personal beefs often affect outcomes; if that’s not Sorkin’s wheelhouse, I don’t know what is."

Endnotes (4/9/10)

This list of 50 book people to follow on Twitter is decent, except for the inexplicable and unforgivable omissions of @maureenjohnson and @realjohngreen.

Violins (and other string instruments) get better the more you play them. For some reason, people often don't believe me when I say this, but it's really true. Anyway, someone has invented a doohickey to simulate this effect. The reactionary Luddite in me says that's cheating.

Here's an intriguing Gossip Girl spoiler for next season.

Endnotes (4/8/10)

World's largest DVR? Yes, please.

The Atlantic has the best post I've seen on the Qatari terrorist-who-wasn't.

Never mind the iPad. I want the Gemini. (h/t Yglesias)

In News That Baffles Me: The following people are all doing a movie together: Cory Monteith (Glee!). Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl!). Andie McDowell. Selena Gomez (one of those Disney girls?). Based on a YA novel? Filming in Budapest, among other places? Huh.

Endnotes (4/7/10)

A few links on net neutrality:
The Net Neutrality Debate All on One Page
Everybody Calm Down About This Net Neutrality Thing
Thanks for the links, everyone!

I don't know if any of you are quite the exact brand of nerd to get as excited about this as I am, but Endeca is working on faceted search for the JFK archives. OMG. It's like they write these stories just for me.

Confederate History Month - to promote tourism? Really, Virginia? Really?

This is what passes for "details" on the super-secret Whedon(/Whitford/Jenkins/Acker) Cabin in the Woods project: There will be monsters. We think.

Ron Moore might be sort of vaguely interested in doing a Star Trek series. Please, God, no.

ABC is premiering some stuff this summer, if you care.

Oh, I actually care about this one: Showtime is picking up Shameless. John Wells! Emmy Rossum! William H. Macy! Allison Janney!

Endnotes (3/5/10)

Leo McGarry: Style Icon

We're up to the Sweet 16 Round of TV's Top Couples.

Cheese or Font?

A crowdsourced color naming project. Nifty.

Billie Piper, David Tennant, and Matthew Rhys in a British murder mystery? Be still, my heart.

Endnotes (3/4/10)

John Barrowman on Glee? Yes, please. Meanwhile, more details on NPH's appearance.

The 2009 Baby Name Pool

David Broder talks sense about Emanuel and wins the Internet for the morning. (Radar probably won the afternoon.)

Newly released photos of Bo Obama. Say it with me: Awwwww.

This grew out of a Buzz discussion of my earlier Ke$ha post: Jamelle translates "My Humps."

Dancing with the Stars ON ICE

Endnotes (3/3/10)

Friends with new blogs: Go visit Rachel and Liza.

Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy; Colin Ayres) has signed on to Hart Hanson's new pilot. Whee! (Hanson is the Bones head writer/executive producer/etc.)

Do you want to play Tetris on your skin? Um, huh.

Romeo and Juliet, circa 2008? Fictional Carville/Matalin? There's going to be a movie about a McCain volunteer who falls for an Obama volunteer.

Neil Patrick Harris as a smurf? I half suspect someone made this up just to mess with Ausiello.

It seems Rob Lowe is going to Parks and Recreation. Does this mean I'm going to be watching FOUR sitcoms? This is unacceptable.

Here is an article about Rahm Emanuel not being as awesome as Josh Lyman. Basically. (Possibly because he is not FICTIONAL. I'm just saying.)

Sarah Palin is shopping a reality show. Of course she is.

Endnotes (3/2/10)

There's some interesting Gossip Girl stuff here. Maybe a few vague spoilers, but nothing serious.

Countdown to the Breitbartocalypse: The Institutional Left Doomsday Clock (h/t Matt Yglesias)

I thought this was a joke at first, but apparently not: Mickey Kaus is running for Senate.

Hey, it's that guy! (h/t Liz)

"This character is a real jerk. Is Bradley Whitford available?" THE QUIZ.

Mitt Romney has a new book out. Spencer Ackerman takes him down. Bonus points for "shibboleth."

Endnotes (3/1/10)

My mind is blown: Rahm Emanuel + Josh Lyman = Tim Geithner (Physically, at least.) (h/t Claire)

More good Glee news: The NPH episode is a go. Squee!

The next round of TV's Top Couples is underway. Josh and Donna were knocked out by Buffy and Angel in the first round, as we all knew they would be. Ah well.

Here's the new Dancing with the Stars cast. They got an astronaut, so I'm going to have to actually watch. Sigh.

Endnotes (2/24/10)

Okay, so forget those other two stories. THIS is the Paterson story. (We think.) It's starting to look like there's a there there.

In happier political news, the Glee kids will be performing at the White House. I also heard a rumor that "Total Eclipse of the Heart" will appear on an upcoming episode of Glee, at which point my inner 15-year-old will die of, um, glee.

School Library Journal is counting down the top 100 children's novels. (h/t Rachel)

Matt Damon as RFK? Hmm. That might work.

For tomorrow night: Women's Figure Skating Drinking Game (h/t Carl)

Congrats to Shani on her first TAP article! Black Women Don't Need Billboards

Endnotes (2/23/10)

Starbucks is coming out with a Dark Cherry Mocha. Hmm, worth a try. After Lent is over.

Scott Brown: maybe not the great conservative hero after all.

Germany has a knitting Olympian. Here's her knitting site. (h/t Kate)

Between Brian Orser's obvious decades of guilt and poor Joannie Rochette's mother's death, I no longer have any idea who I want to win women's figure skating.

I feel the collapse of the Dutch governmetn has been underreported, so I'm just throwing it out there.

Endnotes (2/22/10)

What the Buffy cast is doing now.

Resistance is delicious.

Ezra Klein's first Newsweek column.

Australia gets a saint.

Endnotes (2/19/10)

The only type of sports-related apology I'm interested in seeing. Related: how to tell if Tiger Woods owes you an apology.

Apparently Tommy James (of "and the Shondells" fame) has a book out about how his entire career was run by the mob. Who knew? I really want to read that.

Related: His version of "I Think We're Alone Now" is clearly the only REAL one, and all of you who go on about Tiffany or whoever are just insane.

I doubt this is actually about Sarah Palin, but wow, that would be quite a story.

It looks like the thing I posted the other day wasn't the actual Paterson story. This is.

These people are maybe a little too into Apple.

Wondering how this crazy new(ish) figure skating scoring system works? Here you go.

Oh, Toby. Past Life has been cancelled. My question: Why is The Deep End still on the air?

In retrospect, this seems inevitable.

Siblings from the U.S. are representing Georgia and Japan in ice dancing. I can't quite decide how I feel about this.

What famous friends should Matt Damon and Ben Affleck play? The Sorkin-penned Ben and Jerry's biopic would be BRILLIANT.

Slightly spoilery Gossip Girl pictures.

Yglesias stands up for brie. I had some with my dinner in solidarity.

Endnotes (2/18/10)

Black Man Puts His Feet On Desk, Wingnuts Furious

Two pieces everyone was talking about yesterday but I forgot to include: The stimulus worked. And Andrew Sullivan on Catholicism and torture.

Katie Stevens, the girl from my hometown, has made it to the next round on American Idol. Round? Level? Whatever.

Read Alyssa's essay on how she learned to drink.

A South Carolina state rep is trying to ban U.S. currency in the state. BRILLIANT.

Game Change: full of astounding sentences. Kind of like Barbara Delinsky!

Vague but promising Bones spoilers.

Tired of getting your vampires confused? Via Alyssa, the best chart ever.

Um, the Walk 'n' Talk Network? Sign me up. (Wait, I have it all on DVD. Still.) I would also like the Geek Victims of Fox network and the NYC Yuppie network.

As always: read Gail Collins.

We all know that Americans would hate to spend the next 90 years enveloped in serious wine and universal health care. But think about how much more threatening Romney's warning must be for the French. Where are they supposed to go in this new world order? Do you think France would rather be the Latvia of the 21st century or the Finland?

Endnotes (2/17/10)

THIS was the Paterson story? Really? After all that? In other unexciting political "news," Charlie Bass Tweeted/Facebooked/etc. that he is officially running for his old seat in NH-02. We'd kind of guessed, seeing as how he's been actively campaigning for months.

Todd Eldredge is covering the figure skating in Vancouver for the Times.

The U.S. men's hockey team: full of Ryans.

More shocking news: a piece of historical fiction may have historical inaccuracies! I KNOW!

Here's the Interweave Knits spring preview. I want to make practically everything in it.

EW asks the essential question: Are we ready to like Marc Blucas? Personally, I think I'll have a much better chance of liking him now that he won't be up against David Boreanaz. (See also: Mark Feuerstein in Royal Pains as opposed to The West Wing.)

I, too, am concerned for Kristen Bell and Alexis Bledel.

Endnotes (2/16/10)

The Tuohys of The Blind Side are writing a book.

That NH state rep claiming that Nashua public schools were teaching gay sex to fifth graders? Retracted it.

The worst figure skating costumes ever? Enh. Some of them are bad, but I kind of like Boitano's soldier costume. And there are so many other awful ones that didn't make the slideshow.

Everyone can breathe a sigh of relief: Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries have been renewed.

I'm a fan of Nora Ephron's movies, so I was interested to see her Top 11 Romantic Movies. Alyssa and others have pointed out that almost all the movies are older, and that one of the reasons for this is that older movies tended to have more going for them, plot-wise, than modern romantic comedies do. But I think there's another reason, too: I would put at least You've Got Mail and When Harry Met Sally toward (maybe even at) the top of my list of best modern romantic comedies. Ephron's too modest for that.

Ned Lamont is officially running for governor of CT.

Endnotes (2/15/10)

Elle magazine has a new lit blog.

The 43 sexiest presidents, in order. The Bush 43 description is particularly great:

It's hard to separate politics from the image with the younger Bush, but lets be honest, if he had remained owner of the Texas Rangers, he would have been one of the sexiest businessmen in America. He's fun, spontaneous, obsessed with his body, and knows how to party. Bush is great one-night-stand material for all the same reasons that he was a terrible president.

Ezra Klein, one of my favorite bloggers, will be writing for Newsweek. Congrats!

This blog post is so weird that I don't even know what to say about it. (h/t Kate)

Alyssa presents a compelling argument that the American TV season should be shorter that also just makes me want to watch British crime shows.

I feel bad for Weir and Lysacek being set up into this "the talented one"/"the hardworking one" dichotomy, because I grew up with people saying that about me and my nextdoor neighbor in regards to music. Therefore (shockingly) I am on Team Lysacek, if we have to pick.

I am wary of all three of these books, but I will probably read them anyway.

This piece on casting the John Edwards Lifetime movie is made of awesome. And not just because it includes Bradley Whitford. (For Young, not Edwards.)

I have to say, I am rather looking forward to voting for this guy.

Did they plan this just for me? Colin Firth and Matthew Macfadyen (yes, Mr. Darcy and Mr. Darcy) are going to be in a WWII-era British political crime drama.

These Chinese love consultants are pretty interesting.

Endnotes (2/14/10)

Frank Deford: Figure skating is broken.

Ooh, they're making a movie about Henry of Navarre. And a Formula One documentary.

Make sure you vote for your favorite TV couple. There are 128 to choose from, so you should be able to find one you like. The top 64 vote-getters will go on to the next round.

I wanted the Percy Jackson movies to be good, but the reviews are not encouraging. I will likely go see it anyway. Same with The Wolfman.

Endnotes (2/13/10)

Already? They're planning a Valentine's Day sequel. New Year's Eve. Of course.

I know we've all moved on from the Super Bowl to the Olympics, but I really liked this Josh Levin piece - I could actually understand the sports talk, and the end made me choke up a bit.

The final Hunger Games book will be called Mockingjay. Here's the cover.

I'm a little too excited about this: an adult Sweet Valley book.

Make sure you check out the Olympics-themed Google logos each day. I'm really liking them so far.

Gail Collins is on the filibuster reform bandwagon. Also, I feel I should point out that a rather high percentage of text messages from my father consist of "How are you? Read Gail Collins today!"

Endnotes (2/10/10)

La la la I am pretending this isn't happening.

Hey, Bones fans - spoilers ahoy. Don't shoot the messenger. (h/t Alyssa)

More on misogynistic Super Bowl ads. (h/t Kate)

Katherine Heigl as Stephanie Plum? REALLY?

Endnotes (2/9/10)

Chris Hayes has a book deal!

Okay, New Hampshire Democrats. Time to wake up.

Monopoly is getting an update. I'm not sure how I feel about this.

Sarah Chalke as a Congresswoman on TV? Interesting.

I have to say, I am interested in this untitled and as-yet-plotless movie just based on the cast.

Endnotes (2/8/10)

In the Philippines, people are getting killed over Sinatra karaoke. Just a warning.

Watching The Mentalist always makes me want tea.

I have to say, my dual goals of watching lots of Oscar-nominated movies and clearing the TiVo in preparation for the Olympics aren't really going well together.

RIP John Murtha

Endnotes (2/5/10)

Richard Shelby may be my new least favorite senator.

SyFy is doing a new series of fairy tale inspired Saturday night movies. Will they be awesome or awesomely bad? I'm excited either way.

Speaking of fairy tales, here's a review of Red Riding: 1974. Can't wait for that one.

Neil Patrick Harris as P.T. Barnum? Yes, please.

Pluto is changing color. Maybe it's trying to get our attention so it can become a planet again.

Let's not discuss how many articles mentioning Winter's Bone at Sundance I read before I realized that it's based on a book I really liked. But now I'm a lot more interested in the movie!

Hey, fellow Olympics fans: the Times has a blog about the Games. Aw, the Jamaican bobsled team didn't qualify.

Make sure you read Alyssa Rosenberg on autism in movies.

Endnotes (2/4/10)

Note: I wrote most of this earlier today, but I am actually posting it from my phone because I forgot to post before I shut down the computer. I feel accomplished.

The TV listings for the Olympics are up. I will admit that I am worrying a bit about figuring out the best way to TiVo as much as possible without interfering with other things too much. I love the Olympics!

Wait. WAIT. The original "41-59 Majority" Brown headline was tongue-in-cheek, but I'm not convinced that this one from my local paper realizes it's supposed to be a joke.

You know when you start reading a new-to-you author and then find out that they're already dead, and it's all sad? Yeah, that just happened to me with Stieg Larsson.

Want cute? Hipster Puppies.

Endnotes (2/3/10)

Bradley Whitford on a stripper pole.

Zachary Quinto as George Gershwin? Yes, please!

Beach House on tour. Anyone want to go to the CT or MA show with me?

Whoo! Chris Lehmann has a book deal!

A feminist case for Taylor Swift. (h/t Matt Yglesias)

Endnotes (2/2/10)

Unlike everyone else on Twitter, I am not watching Lost. Just for the record.

The nerdiest Superbowl bet ever?

I've never read Louis Auchincloss, but this obituary makes me want to.

Jenny Sanford says Mark took the "fidelity clause" out of their marriage vows. Um. Big red flag, no?

Via Alyssa, an interesting set of rare photos of famous people.

Why isn't Avatar considered an animated film?

Endnotes (2/1/10)

Allison Janney has joined Matthew Perry's pilot Mr. Sunshine. Oh, please please please let this show be picked up.

New Sade. I think it hit me at exactly the right moment when I listened to it Friday night - at the end of a long day at the end of a long week, while I was knitting on the couch and cuddling with the kitten. Perfect. (h/t Alyssa)

TV's 22 Best-Ever Female Characters Thoughts? Additions? I would add Veronica Mars and maybe Dana from Sports Night. Oh, and Buffy!

Here's a nice little Richard Schiff profile.

Endnotes (1/29/10)

Noah Millman suggests a Guys and Dolls movie remake with George Clooney and Will Smith. All I can say is: Sign. Me. Up.

Introducing the Code 58 car.(WARNING: One commenter reports malware from something on that site. I've visited the site many times without a problem, so I'm not sure what's going on. Maybe it's something in an ad that just shows up occasionally. Proceed at your own risk.) I know I keep saying "awesome" about things related to this show, but there's really no other word for it. I have to say: I was skeptical about the whole concept at first. I was going to watch for Whitford, of course, but I wasn't all that enthused about the premise. But in the last few weeks, I've become really excited about it, mostly thanks to the writers/producters/directors tweeting about it.

Selleck Waterfall Sandwich Because - well, why not?

Valerie Wilson on women in the CIA. Some of her generalizations about things "all women" can just do raise my hackles, but it's an interesting piece.

The best Salinger obit is from The Onion.

Warning: This xkcd just made me cry.

Androids: Data is the best. OBVIOUSLY.

You know, I wish female figure skaters would stop pulling their tights down over their skates. It just looks dumb. We know you're wearing skates!

Want tips for keeping your clandestine affair a secret? Ask John Edwards.

Why don't book reviewers ever say books are boring?

I adore Kristen Bell, so I wanted to see When in Rome, but after reading this hilarious review... well, I still want to see it, actually, if only to see how awful it is. But I'll wait for Netflix.

Endnotes (1/28/10)

Farewell, Whole Foods. Ugh, and Atticus, while we're at it.

John McCain: Bigot. Sestak responds.

The Social Network, a.k.a the Aaron Sorkin Facebook movie, has had its opening date moved up to October 1. Who wants to go with me on opening night?

George Lucas is making a CGI musical involving fairies. Apparently he's entered his late Sir Arthur Conan Doyle period.

Warner Bros. has apparently decided to do not only Clash of the Titans but also the last two Harry Potter movies in 3D. I kind of feel like this is getting out of hand. Does everything need to be 3D? Really?

A period vampire epic could be awesome or, um, not. We'll see.

Tetris Tiles!

RIP J.D.Salinger and Howard Zinn. But Dissent magazine, uh, dissents.

Jody Rosen and Jonah Weiner on Taylor Swift's new song. I haven't actually heard it yet, but after reading that I'll be buying it tonight.

Quite possibly the most hope-inspiring sentence I've read all day: "Bradley Whitford is now officially an action hero." And hey, he's on the cover of a magazine.

Endnotes (1/27/10)

A Few Good Men might be coming back to Broadway! I will totally go to New York for that.

The Go Fug Yourself ladies have taken on figure skating. Thank goodness.

I posted about this the other day, but I just like Matt Yglesias's headline: Lawful Evil Circuit Court Upholds Dumb-Ass Prison D&D Ban

The CW has picked up a pilot by Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino. It's about a Wyoming horse farm, which could be meh, but I'll try anything by the creators of Gilmore Girls.

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum - one of my favorites - is getting a makeover.

Endnotes (1/26/10)

Greg Malins (of How I Met Your Mother, Friends, and Will and Grace) and Arianna Huffington (of - you know) are producing a comedy show about freshmen members of Congress living together. I'll give it a try, but I would be exponentially more excited if Aaron Sorkin were involved.

Really, History Channel? Larry the Cable Guy? Is this really necessary?

Endeca has a new search blog. I am dorkily excited.

Alyssa Rosenberg now has me wishing I'd watched Jersey Shore. Buffy AND Pride and Prejudice references? I can't possibly resist that.

Apparently Timothy Hutton is a literary sex god. Who knew? (Leverage is really good, though.)

Endnotes (1/25/2010)

I don't know why it took me so long to start paying attention regularly to NPR's music site, but I've been enjoying exploring it over the past week or so. Here's another song I really like: "Broken Things" by The Reigning Sound.

10 'Will They/Won't They' Couples: Considering that this is my favorite TV plot ever, basically, I'm surprised I only watch three of these shows (although I'm planning on starting to watch House and Chuck). And what about Jane and Lisbon from The Mentalist? They totally belong on there.

Omnivoracious, the Amazon book blog, has a roundup of eight influential authors of the YA Decade.

Before we get ahead of ourselves with excitement about the American version of Torchwood, Allie Townsend reminds us about Fox's history of cancelling sci-fi shows.

Um, really? Wisconsin thinks D&D encourages prison gangs?

Do we still need Lilith Fair? Carrie Brownstein considers.

Pete Souza reflects on the President's first year with a gallery of photos and commentary. There are some interesting process notes. For example, on photo ten: "The President meets with the Democratic Blue Dog coalition in the State Dining Room. I had noticed the glasses of cranberry and orange juice sitting on a table in the doorway of the Red Room, so I backtracked to compose this picture from inside the Red Room."

Slate's Farhad Manjoo wants the new Apple tablet to be more like a toaster.

Endnotes (1/24/10)

Book lists: National Book Critics Circle Finalists and the 2010 Tournament of Books Shortlist

I just watched the first episode of The Deep End. It may in fact be the worst show I have ever seen.

Armless (and Janel Moloney's performance) is getting a lot of good reviews, including this one.

Endnotes (1/23/10)

I just accidentally painted my nails dark blue. I mean, I painted them on purpose but I didn't expect the color to be quite so . . . navy. Oops. Now that I'm getting used to it, though, I kind of like it.

Formula One update: no more double diffusers.

Emily Bazelon updates readers on the book swap her family does in lieu of gifts at her kids' birthday parties. All I can think is - man, I wish any of the parties I went to as a kid resulted in going home with a book instead of a dumb goody bag. I am likely missing the point of the piece.

A lot of Facebook spoofs don't quite work, but the Slate version of the President's Facebook feed manages to be consistently funny. Here's the most recent one.

E! Online is going to do a TV's Top Couples bracket going into Valentine's Day, and they're taking suggestions for which couples to include. Comment over here to suggest your favorites.

You know that Tooth Fairy movie we all were hoping was some sort of elaborate practical joke? Alas, it's real, but Josh Levin watched it so we don't have to.

Endnotes (1/22/10)

I need to redo all my categories. Hmm. Something to contemplate.

Alyssa is headed to New York and gives us a YouTube New York mixtape to enjoy while she's gone.

Rachel is blogging a picture a day this year, and unlike many who do that, she's a very good photographer. So you should follow along here.

Nate Silver's first post-Masspocalypse Senate rankings are out, and it's not looking, you know, bright and shiny, but I liked this line: "Paul Hodes might be saved if the Republicans nominate a wingnut rather than Kelly Ayotte." (Dear Hodes campaign, I signed up on your site to volunteer! Call me!)

Go vote for Amanda Palmer for both best- and worst-dressed at the Golden Globes. All the cool kids are doing it.

Blast from the past: a new Gene Roddenberry show?

Endnotes (1/21/10)

(Is there someone else who calls an evening link roundup "Endnotes"? I have a nagging feeling that there is, but I can't come up with who. Whoever you are - sorry! I'll come up with a new name if you want!)

Stupid criminal of the day: This guy paid a prostitute, who then refused to sleep with him. So he CALLED THE POLICE.

Wait, REALLY? When I first saw something about the new all-white professional basketball league, I assumed it was a joke. Alas, it is not. Update: Just saw that Ta-Nehisi Coates thinks it's a hoax. God, I hope so.

Tim Matheson tweeted this morning that the Code 58 cast - Bradley Whitford, Colin Hanks, Diana-Maria Riva, and Jenny Wade - have arrived, uh, somewhere. Wherever he is. Dallas, I assume? That's where they're filming. But anyway, this news fills me with glee.

When did Fox become the network that keeps coming out with new shows I like? Something to ponder.

The new Clash of the Titans might be 3D. I am undecided about this, and 3D movies in general - they can be nifty but I don't really enjoy the headaches I get from watching them.

Jessica Grose thinks the news Jersey Shore style show should be Massholes. Awesome. That one I might actually watch.

I haven't actually watched any of this season of Brothers and Sisters yet (it's on the TiVo!) but I am unhappy with this development (spoiler!). The bit in the fourth graf makes it a little less sad, I suppose. More on my feelings on this when it's no longer a spoiler.