Holy Crap!

So, I tried to stay up last night and catch as much as I could of the return of our intrepid late night talk show hosts. I managed to catch most of Dave and some of Jay, but did not hold on for Conan or Craig, which I might have to DVR tonight just out of curiosity. I have to say Dave--who, in Robin Williams best joke, did resemble General Lee with his scruffy gray beard--seemed like he was a little rusty, which surprised me. I really thought he might be a little more polished, ya know, for Dave.

Sidebar: Robin Williams was his usual ADD self at first, but really settled down (must've taken some Ritalin at the break) to discuss his USO trip, and was still funny, but so much easier to watch in that mode.

Jay, on the other hand, in the small sections I saw, seemed kind of pumped to get back at it and do his best on his own. The man does have a very long career of stand-up to back him up, so he should be able to handle this, at least to a degree. I'm starting to get the feeling his show, which was all schtick and formula before, might get better without writers. I could be wrong--it was one show--but, maybe Jay will get to show his real stuff for the first time in years. Back when I was in college (when dinosaurs roamed the earth), he actually came and did stand up for our Parents' weekend and he was damn funny! This could be interesting. Dave's got Ellen Page of Juno fame on tonight, so y'all know I'm there. I don't even know who Jay's got, but I'm just loving that this whole drama is unfolding regardless, especially since there's not much else on!

In other news--and Lord, I hope no one's eating--the new Survivor cast was announced today. I always like to check these to see if I know someone, as I figure the odds are I will someday know someone on a reality show. No such luck this time, but I'm relieved to know that no plastic surgeons are going hungry--there's once again more than enough silicone on display. And I chuckled at the sight of the 22-year-old kid from Hell, Michigan, because he looks like Andy Gibb and David Cassidy had a baby, between the hair and the swim trunks. He just needs a puka shell necklace. He's adorable!

So here's the stomach-turning part...if you watch this installment of Survivor, you're going to have to endure another round of Jon Dalton, aka Johnny Fairlplay, aka the Biggest Asshat in Recorded History. I hate this man with the fire of a thousand burning suns, though I may be understating myself slightly. He's beyond vile. I didn't watch Survivor: China, so I'm not up on those two, other than what Don has said on his blog, and he seems to love James. The rest of them, eh. (Except Ozzie. Yowza! How you doin'?) I am glad we don't have to see Steph or Bobby Jon again, because, enough already.

Thoughts?

This & That

I have a confession to make, and I think it may intrigue my husband and the large number of male admirers I have around the globe.  I'm in love with a woman.  And her name is Diablo Cody.

She is my new idol; a woman who quit her job at an ad agency, became a stripper for a year, primarily to get material, and created a blog about it.  Said blog was "discovered" by some agent in L.A. and, after she realized he was for real and actually responded to his emails, led to her being the new "it" girl in screenwriting circles.  I haven't even seen Juno yet, but I love it already.  And, then, I open my mail today and find my new copy of Entertainment Weekly.  Guess who their new columnist is?  Uh-huh, it's my girl Diablo!

Then, I get to the column itself, and she is writing about her publicity tour for Juno, comparing and contrasting it to being on a rock & roll tour bus, a la one of my all-time favorite films, Almost Famous!  I almost peed my pants!  It's like she's talking directly to me!  And she's so sharp and funny...oh, diary, I love her.  And I kind of want to be her.  I assume a restraining order is forthcoming.  

So, due to my unrelenting work schedule and other obligations this week, I have again been remiss in posting my Project Runway thoughts.  This past week's episode was notable for the loss of Jack from the competition due to a crazy staph infection that he had to treat aggressively, and the return of Chris March; sweet, lovely Chris who is so endearing personally, but designs everything as if he's working on the sequel to Priscilla: Queen of the Desert.

The challenge was to design for some "real" women (you know, the ones who don't look like clothes hangars) who'd recently lost a great deal of weight, using their favorite old outfits as the material.  This added something to the challenge, in that many of the fat clothes were made in terribly cheap fabrics.  Hell, Jillian didn't even use the original fabric, just some of it in the piping on her dress.  She is consistently good, though.  I really like her stuff.  

And, to prove I'm definitely not a fashion maven, the first time I actually like one of Christian's designs is when it's deemed (horrors!) "commercial".  I guess I'll never truly be hip.  More's the pity.  Kevin's model's love of her bustier and crop pants ensemble really sold the judges, but I suppose Christian was due for a win.  I must begrudgingly admit the guy is pretty good, even though I don't always "get it".

You kind of knew Steven was doomed from the second he got the wedding gown.  Not only did he have a fabric that was not very accessible, especially given time constraints, he clearly had a bit of a whack-job for a client if her favorite item of clothing to be repurposed for everyday wear was her plus-size wedding gown.  I know, I sound insensitive, but that's how I feel.  It seemed unlikely that Chris would be eliminated twice in a row, even though he made an outfit so costume-y that Michael Kors said it reminded him of what Shirley McClaine wore to play a "hooker with a heart of gold" (really, is there any other kind?)  And, Elisa didn't really execute well as far as the overall challenge, but her piece wasn't horrible.  Steve's was just badly made and boring, a deadly combination for this show.

I guess I have to watch this Clash of the Choirs thing, at least a little bit.  It's not like there's anything else on this week.  All I saw tonight was Patti Labelle's choir performing at the end of the first episode, and I almost converted on the spot.  (Don't worry, Mom!  Just kidding!)  I'm guessing either Blake Shelton or Michael Bolton (and his chest hair) will be the first to go.  

But, hey, looks like Jay & Conan are coming back live on January 2nd!  I'm not sure whether this will be a good thing, at least as far as Jay goes.  I think it's been a crazy long time since the man's worked without a script.  I have a feeling Conan, however, will rise to the occasion.  At least it's some kind of pop culture cannon fodder to look forward to after the New Year!  

See y'all later!