Whine & Cheese

TV T-Shirt Fun

If you are as much as a TV fan as I am, you probably already know about the Television Without Pity website... just a great place to get re-caps or discuss your favorite shows.  It is a quite witty crowd over there... particularly the folks who write up the re-caps.  I am not sure if they invented the word "snarky" - but they are certainly a good defintion of it.

What you might not know is that they have a store... and sell, among other things, these really fun t-shirts.  Most like because of copyright infringement, they don't actually name the show... but if you are a fan of the show... you know what it is all about and can get the often inside joke.

I decided to give it a try... although the store is Canadian-based there was no problem ordering or receiving the shirts.  The catch is that the shirts are only available for one month's time... they call it NoN (Now or Never)... so if you see something you like you have to act quick (shirts are shipped out the following month).

I have ordered two of them thus far... and below I headlessly model them..

First up, recognize the font & logo?  Yep, American Idol... but here show title has been replaced with the catch-phrase Loud is the new Good... and if you have watched Idol you know the show is all about the glory notes... and the louder the better.  Being hooked on this show as much as I am, I just had to have this one.

The next one is a little bit more obscure... but if you have watched Lost (particularly last night) you are aware the airliner that crashed was the fictional Oceanica Airlines... acting quickly I now have the "official" company t-shirt... the tag line... Getting halfway there is all the fun!

The one shirt that I am disappointed that I missed out on was "My Ox Is Broken!" ... for you TAR fans you may remember that line from Colin (of Colin & Christie, runner-ups of TAR5). 

So if you are looking for something fun to wear and are a TV-junkie, be sure to check out the TWoP store around the beginning of the month to see the latest they have to offer!
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"Lost" & Found

After a very long break, Lost was back with a new episode last night... and as usual, we were left with more questions than answers.

First off though, the television gods are not being very nice at all!  Lost, Idol Finales Will Square Off... arrrrgh!?!   Both are currently scheduled to air expanded 2 hour finales on Wednesday, May 25th - I am hoping that are TiVos and cable boxes (which have a tendency just to shut themselves off every now and then!) are working fine while we are on vacation.

Later in the post there are some mild spoilers...  they have been widely reported (and are not very specific) in entertainment mags and website... but I will give a warning if you want to remain totally spoiler-free. 

The show's title last night was "Deus Ex Machina" -- everything means something on Lost, so I had to look it up.  Here you go:

In some ancient Greek drama, an apparently insoluble crisis was solved by the intervention of a god, often brought on stage by an elaborate piece of equipment. This "god from the machine" was literally a deus ex machina. The term deus ex machina is still used for cases where an author uses some improbable (and often clumsy) plot device to work his or her way out of a difficult situation. When the cavalry comes charging over the hill or when the impoverished hero is relieved by an unexpected inheritance, it's often called a deus ex machina.

Okay... go at it... it is just making my brain ache just thinking about all this could mean.

More of the numbers game... when Locke's mom asked him where the footballs were... he said "regulation aisle 8, nerf aisle 15".... once again a reference back to the doomed Oceanic Flight 815.  Also, remember the Hurley's lottery ticket also had this numeric reference (4-8-15-16-23 42).

When Boone made contact with someone on the newly found crashed plane... the person on the other end said "There were no survivors of Oceanic Flight 815"... now what does that mean? 

Ok, avert your eyes... STOP HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS...

After being tricked several times about the deaths of main characters... creator JJ Abrams is standing firm that one of them will not make it through the first season.  Now things were not looking very good for Boone last night (causing my other half to already show the signs of deep depression)... but my take (and I really have no clue!) is that Boone dying would be too obvious... this show thrives off the surprise twist... so I am thinking this just might be a bait-and-switch.

And not like the season finale needs to be hyped, but co-creator Damon Lindelof says the season-ending cliffhanger is "gonna rock peoples' world... we want people talking all summer long."

AI4: "Not That There's Anything Wrong With That" News Edition

Boy, just a whole lot of gay-related news swirling around American Idol-land... here are scoops and links!

Current Idol contestant Anwar Robinson has been outed by AfterElton.com -- guess he wasn't really keeping it a "secret."

That most trusted of sources, The National Enquirer, says the reason Mario Vazquez left the show this season was that another contestant was threatening to out him.  In an added twist, Mario also hired Clay Aiken's lawyer... while many hinted this might have something to do with the sexually ambiguous Season 3 runner-up, general thought it was more for legal advice on dealing with those reportedly "sign your life away" AI contracts?

Openly gay Season 1 contestant Jim Verraros has a whole new look and is releasing an album of dance/club music. Verraros has also appeared in the gay indie film Eating Out.

Gay-fave from Season 3, Kimberley Locke is shopping around a reality series called "Aren't You That Girl?" which would follow Locke as she heads back into the studio to record her second album and get married to Don Campbell.

Finally, recently ousted Mikalah Gordon (and drag queen/fag hag wannabe) is not being shy about wanting to land a role on a sitcom...  no shocker that she mentions Fran Drescher's new show.

TAR7: 401-OK? Rollover

Thoughts on last night's episode "I've Been Wanting A Face Lift For A Long Time".

A lot to talk about in this two-hour episode...as the teams finally leave South America and head on over to South Africa...  let's just run it down by the teams in order of finish:

Ron/Kelly - I know we are supposed to looove this team... they are America's couple, a former POW and pageant queen -- but the fact that they keep on reminding us of those facts are what is not making me like them all that much.  Other than that I don't have much of an opinion about them... though next week it looks like the cracks are going to start to show as Ron tells Kelly to shut-up and she refers to him as a redneck or hillbilly or something like that... so I think they just may inherit the dysfunctional couple curse from the ousted Ray & Deana.

Rob/Amber - Ok, now bring on all the Rob/Amber hate... in my opinion, much of the antics folks were accusing these two of were pretty darn harmless, but in tonight's show there was certainly enough on display to understand the R&A hate:  Amber looking pretty darn pissed when Rob actually had the gall to ask her what they should do at the cooling tower (Amber make a decision?!? C'mon Rob), Amber not giving a shit at the beginning of the shopping challenge, R&A getting recognized (Survivor popular in South Africa who would have thunk it?!) and nicely helped along because of that, not giving Meredith and Gretchen any financial assistance, later jokingly (and going too far) accusing Meredith of pushing Gretchen  sympathy points and... whew... not even considering stopping at the accident scene.

R&A could have done stuff that would have not really hurt them all that much... throw the older couple some taken money and they could have at least slowed down and rolled down the window and asked if everyone was okay at the accident scene.  Meredith and Gretchen are just running on borrowed time... and likely the brothers would have just waved them on.  But it really does not matter all that much... the R&A hate-fest among the teams would not have improved any if they did any of these things so I see where R&A don't really care about anyone else...

Rob did have the best line of the night upon leaving the pit stop... "Meredith and what's his name get no money."  They have been racing for how long and folks (another team was confused as well) that Meredith is the male in that relationship.

Uchenna/Joyce - Ok, I am seriously rambling...so I will try to keep be more succinct (if possible)... these two are emerging as one of the teams I am rooting for..

Lynn/Alex - Succinct-ness temporarily ends... ok, time to take away my "gay card" as I am having a hard time rallying around Team Birdcage.  Sure they are still entertaining, but more than a few times they crossed the line last night.  First off.  Shut. Up.  About Rob & Amber... we know you hate them and no need to remind of us that 73 times over the course of 2 hours.  While I certainly didn't expect them to share their cab with R&A, their "not enough room" excuse... well-earned them one of their favorite names for anyone else who doesn't do what they like... bitches!  Likewise, they were the essence of Ugly American-ism in this episode... relieved that Johannesburg was not "chickens and camels"... referring to Botswana as Comptom-like, looking for a person "least likely to have a gun" and calling another local "Tupac."  They are also reeking of self-rightousness over the whole stopping at the rollover... which just gave them another opportunity to go on a R&A rant. 

Meredith/Gretchen - It is fun to have an older couple around... at the start of the Race. But at some point it gets really painful to watch... and last night these two entered into that territory.  Despite avoiding Philimination (and how cruel is the new twist to take everything away except their passports!) in the first hour, I was kind of hoping they would be taken out of their misery in the second hour.  I give 'em props for soldiering on, but they are pretty much deadwood at this point.

Brian/Greg - Despite Gretchen's fall, the rollover has to be about the worst thing that has happened in TAR history... just really scary.  It really would have been a shame if the brothers were eliminated for it... but it did end up providing a nail-biting run to the pit-stop map.  This team is definitely growing on me... and I am glad they beat out...

Ray/Deana - An hearty good riddance for this team which was quickly threatening to give Jonathan & Victoria a run for their money in the verbal abuse department.  Kudos for getting through that cooling tower fast-forward (there is absolutely no way we would have done that) - but this team proved that being strong mentally and working together as a team is far more important than physicality (though that definitely enters into the equation later in the Race). 

AI4: I Love the 90s???

No excuses this week... the contesants couldn't whine about not being familiar with the music of this decade -- though admittedly it was stil a bit disconcerting for me to hear that some of them were in high school, but I got over that.  Not the best Idol night for sure... a couple of good performance, a lot in the middle, and more evidence of who should be the next few contestants shown the door.

So here we go, in order from first to worst from last night... and the rolling rankings and averages in paranthesis.

#1 Carrie Underwood - (#1 overall/1.83 average) - "Independence Day" - As usual, Carrie gave us flawless vocals - something that could not be said for most of the other contestants tonight.  She is consistent.  Only criticism would be that it was yet another straight-forward physical performance and that she did not stray even a centimeter away intepretation-wise. 

#2 Vonzell Solomon - (#6/4.83) - "I Have Nothing" -  Vonzell continues her march up the rankings.  While I originally tagged her to finish out of the Top 5 she is showing signs of life.  She managed to approach the Whitney version of the song, which is about all you can ask for.

#3 Constantine Maroulis - (#5/4.67) - "I Can't Make You Love Me" - What a perfectly named song for Constantine to sing... folks either love or hate Consty and this song and performance was not going to get any of his detractors to jump the fence.  I thought Constantine made love to camera with his eyes last night (ok, I said something much more crude than "make love") - other called it creepy.  The song is probably high on my list of favorites, so it was a good thing that I didn't think he ruined it.  And yes, time to stop calling Constantine a "rocker" (or Simon please! comparing him with Bo)... yes he was/is in "rock" band... but he has only sang one song that could be classified that way ("Hard To Handle" in the semis).

#4 Nadia Turner - (T#2/2.83) - "I'm The Only One" - Thought it was a nice rebound for Nadia this week... although being a big Melissa Ethridge fan, I think her version paled in comparison to the original.  Melissa has "meaty" vocals, and I think this brought to light some of her vocal limitations.  But good performance and hopefully she will stay out of the Bottom 3 for awhile... things got a bit too scary last week.

#5 Bo Bice - (T#2/2.83) - "Remedy" - Another week that I wasn't liking Bo all that much... I take back all I said about last week when he slowed it down with "Time in a Bottle."  Admittedly part of my problem was that I was not familiar with the song... so that always makes it hard to judge.  Still a good performance (though I am tiring of the drag around the mikestand technique)... and that hat has got to go.

#6 Jessica Sierra - (#4/4.00) - "On The Side of Angels" - Well, if Jessica was great last week that pretty much means she is just going to be "aaaight" this week.  Again nothing terribly wrong with the vocal, but there wasn't anything special about it... as with Bo, did not help any that she picked a song that I did not know.  Too bad she went with a Leann Rimes song... when she mentioned The Dixie Chicks in the pre-performance piece I was pretty stoked... think she would have done better to go with a Chicks song.  Would not be surprised if she lands in the Bottom 3 again... I agree with Simon that she has a "like-ability" issue... she might just get undeservedly bumped off on one of these "aaight" weeks.

#7 Nikko Smith - (T#8/7.00) - "Can We Talk?" - Ah, Nikko this week finally confesses up to being the son of former-MLB-er Ozzie Smith.  But here we have yet another case of hard to judge due to not being familiar with the song.  More of a problem for me was that I really don't get that much into this genre of music.  I know this type of song has a lot of runs, stylistic stuff and improvisation...  but I just find it to be messy.

#8 Anthony Federov - (T#8/7.00) - "Something About The Way You Look Tonight" - Ok, Anthony loses the glasses still does not do an all that bad job vocally but I am really not connecting with him all that much.  He is just coming across and too vanilla for me - bland and boring.  I expect him to land in the Bottom 3 again and place pretty good odds that he may be eliminated.

#9 Anwar Robinson - (#7/5.67) - "I Believe I Can Fly" - Anwar continues to be the biggest disappointment in the finals.  The start of this song was just excruciating -- just very shallow and warbly.  Simon was right that he usually saves it in the end with the big note... and his voice has a whole other tone when he opens it up.  Paula's over-the-top praise for this performance was proof that she really must be on something (not that we needed further evidence!).

#10 Scott Savol - (#10/8.33) - "One Last Cry" - The slightly overweight, Southern country boy thing can only get Scott so far and unless I am seriously underestimating his fan base Scott should land in Bottom 3 for the first time in the competition... and probably deserves the most to be booted.  Another case where an contestant gets into serious trouble trying to sing a song by a very stylized singer (Brian McKnight)... I think McKnight even sounds not so great in parts of this song... so what can you really expect for an Idol contestant? 

Fine Wine #8a: Roger Returns

Nope, the Fine Wine department has not been closed for renovations - just going through a serious dry spell.  We have not had a new entry since the very beginning of the month (Bobby Jon) and Brad & Nick have been pretty much coasted along since mid-February.   Just not a whole lot of new TV guys to speak of... American Idol & TAR7 have not provided much new eye candy... and heck if I nominate Constantine or Rob Mariano I think I would lose half of my "readership" (these guys are either love 'em or hate 'em)... but seriously they haven't seriously blipped on the radar.

So I am dipping back into the FW well and re-instating the #1-ranked men's tennis player... Roger Federer.  [As usual, click on the pic for a slightly larger view]  Federer first made the FW list late last year and has continued on the path of re-writing the tennis history books.  Roger is currently competing in the Nasdaq-100 Master Series tournament (often dubbed the 5th Slam) in Miami.  Through last week, here are some of Roger's current amazing stats:

• 26-1 win/loss record in 2005 (lost to Marat Safin in the Australian Open semifinals, but had a match point)
• Has won 4 tournament titles in 2005
• On a 16 match win streak
• 42-1 win/loss record since the 2004 Athens Olympics (again Aus Open)
• Has won 7 of his last 8 tournament appearances (again Aus Open)
• Has won 26 of his last 27 matches vs. Top 10 players (again Aus Open!)
• Has won 17 consecutive finals (an ATP record) - streak started Oct 2003

And he is only 23 years old!  Really quite amazing.

In the ATP media guide he is listed at 6'1" and 177 lbs.

Ok, enough with the stats.  Late last year, Roger cut his hair... well kind of.  He went from the slicked-back, mini-pony tail on court... to a more wild, free-flowing slightly shorter look.  I really like it (ok, maybe I am a bit jealous)... just love how his hair moves, especially during those slow-motion replays!  Again, he is not a classic cutie - but he is sure beautiful to watch!

To read Federer's first induction onto the Fine Wine list... click here.

Alas with a new entry, we usually say goodbye to another... and so we wave off Bradley Cooper.  Having finally caught up on our backlogged episodes of the WB's Jack & Bobby, it appears "Tom" may be getting the boot as well.  Not that any of us thought it would last, the Grace/Tom affair appeared to gasp its last breath in that last new episode.  But no need to feel bad... he has been tapped for a Fox comedy pilot, Kitchen Confidential (based on the best-selling book) "which explores the crazy world of upscale New York restaurants.  Bradley Cooper will play the bad-boy chef at the center of the show."

Amateur Hour Photography Critique: Volume 1

With a basic digital camera so affordable these days, it seems like nearly everyone has one... or if they don't they probably have a cell phone that takes pictures.  And so the "popularity" of taking risque and publicly posting pictures of oneself has exploded as well.  Gay men, in particular, seem pretty open to this activity... kind of makes sense since the general belief is that men (hetero or gay) are more visually oriented. 

So finding an "amateur" website on the Web is not a challenging task at all.  While I am not a big proponent of "you've seen one, you've seen them all" - you definitely start noticing other things. 

Although I don't do it all that much these days, I think I am a fairly good photographer.  People tell me I have "the eye" and my other half can tell you many a story where I waited (and waited and waited) to get "the right shot."  And if I couldn't get the right shot, photography-oriented software has been one of my favorite things to tinker with (improving the lighting, cropping, etc.). 

So I am going to do a little combo of the two... looking at some "naughty" amateur pics and doing a little photo composition crticism.  Why did you take a picture there?  Are you trying to get on home improvement show? 

I can't take credit for this idea... there was a website that was totally devoted to this type of "analysis"... I forgot its name, but it was pretty fun... so hope they don't mind that I borrowed the concept.

Now, the faces have been blocked to protect the guilty... and similiarly I have "black-boxed" out any nudity.  That said, I am presenting these pics as "pop-ups" for a reason... nudity is well-implied tho, so I do NOT consider these to be work-safe.

Are you ready?  Click on the link to pop-up the picture:

Got Wood (Paneling)? - I am not exactly sure what this guy in the speedo was thinking. He is not centered in the picture, so I think the object was to show off this lovely wood paneling and that he has no place to store his CD collection. Likewise, note the area around his feet -- obviously he had to move a very heavy circular object in order to pose in that exact spot.

Harnessing Electricity? - There's not too much wrong with this 20-something, especially if you are an aficionado of leather harnesses.  While my initial focus was on the subject at hand, there was eventually a distraction.  Good idea to take a pic against a blank wall ... but ideally you would have unplugged the cords (going off somwhere outside of the picture's range) and had your leg cover up the outlet.

How *Not* To Improve An Already Ugly Couch - Nothing wrong with taking a nap on the couch au natural (ok, he probably wasn't sleeping... just pretending to) - but man this couch has go to go!  The crocheted blanket only adds to the design disaster... and what would Grandma think?!  If you love the couch too much at least go out and consider a nice slip cover!

Shutting the Closet - Let's see...  my closet could probably qualify for disaster relief funds, clothes all over my un-made bed and strewn about... I know, I'll take a naked pic of myself!! I admit to not being the neatest person in the world, but what a mess... or maybe it was just laundry day?!

Cleaning the Counter Top? - A pretty nice kitchen, but a bit cluttered don't you think?  That is if you can get beyond the naked man on the countertop!  Now I have seen the sit on the counter top pose, but not quite this completely horizontal take.   Hope they had some Lysol Santizing Wipes for afterwards!

Separation of Church & State (of Undress) - Counter top man strikes again... a pretty cute pic... always a fan of using the cowboy hat to cover up the privates... but this is an example of one one of my biggest amateur photo pet peeves - if you are going to take a naked or semi-naked picture of yourself, you should try your best to avoid the crucifix being part of the picture.

That's all for now.  As you see, I dubbed this post "Volume 1"... so it will probably be a semi-regular feature here on W&C.... research, research, research.  Tough task!

New Sidebar Feature: Movies

I have managed to put yet another sidebar feature on W&C, two of them actually: Movies on TiVo & Recently Screened.  Right now they are on the lower right hand column.

Thanks to the major network shows going with repeats through most of March, we have remarkably caught up on 90%+ of our "regular" TiVo programming.  When that happens, I tend to load up the TiVo with movies.  As I have mentioned before, we don't get out to the movies all that much these days -- so there are many, many, many movies to choose from (and heck we are paying for all these premium channels!).  Thanks to TiVo it is quite easy to find a good movie that is airing at 3:15am on a Tuesday morning.

The list is quite long (and growing more over the next week).  Now keep in mind, this just means that the movie is on our TiVo... it doesn't necessarily mean we will get around to watching it.  I often find myself deleting and re-scheduling a movie for a later date (since we only tend to watch movies on Saturday night)... or just deleting a movie when the TiVo fills up again with other stuff.  Also, be prepared for some of the films to stick around... I confess that Mystic River has been on our TiVo since December!  Haven't quite been in the right "mood" for that one (hear it is a downer).

Underneath that list, I do list the ones that we have got around to watching.  We caught Ray recently on DVD and watched a TiVo'd Supersize Me this weekend.  Highly recommend that documentary... but be prepared to re-consider ever eating fast food with any sort of regularity.

Oh, how did I do the lists?  Well, just used the TypePad TypeList "book" feature... you can just copy in the ASIN for the DVD from Amazon (vs. the ISBN for a book) and still get the neat little thumbnail graphic.

Who Wears Short Shorts

Before I get to the subject of the day, first a bit of shameless self-promotion... had another shout-out for my blog, this time from Nick over at Zionide.  Nick did a blogger "meme" (March 22nd entry) and I earned a couple of mentions --  blogger with the best eye candy and who updates most consistently.   Now, I think he was just being very nice about that 2nd one... it should have been titled "Blogger who apparently has nothing better to do than blog"... haha!  But I appreciate the mentions!  Nick was one of the first blogs I ever stumbled upon (ok, one of several dozen folks who landed their thanks to a Nate Berkus search), so he is partially responsible for what has turned into this little 'ole blog called Whine & Cheese.  I will leave it up to you whether you want to thank him or blame him!

Ok, today's topic!  That swimsuit I ordered arrived in the mail yesterday.  No worries, I like it... cool pattern, very tropical... but quite short.  It met my criteria... shorter than "surfer" length and more coverage than say a suit that has lycra in it.  It is definitely fitted, not like a loose (underwear) boxer short... or else my ass is bigger than I thought!  But it'll work...

Also, keeping with the title... you remember that line was the theme for Nair, the hair removal product that targeted the ladies to have those smooth legs when they wore their short shorts.  Well, with my swimsuit order I did an impulse purchase and bough this product called No Shave.  Now, I am not looking to do any major hair removal, but I thought I'd give it a try for some areas were where this is an almost sillily (ok, I made up that word) small amount of hair.  Ok, perhaps vaulting well over the T.M.I. line ... it's the upper/lower chest/torso area.  Anyways, it is the type you slather on wait 5-7 minutes and rub off with a damp cloth.

The directions say it is "not recommended for face, underarms, perianal or genital areas"... ok, I am NOT interested in using this in those regions, but I still found that amusing... and okay a little scary.  I have read horror stories (even from some guys!) about this kind of product, so I am hoping this will not ultimately turn into a future blog entry that will straddle the line of humor and disaster. 

So fill me in... ladies or gentlemen... does it work?  If not, what is your preferred method(s)?   And heck, just out of pure curiosity how do guys get some of those nether regions so smooth on those...ahem! amateur ahem! "picture" sites?!

What I Am (Will Be) Watching On Bravo

Since I did a post about the NBC shows that we watch, thought I would do one for its sister network, Bravo... or maybe I should call it NBC's gay brother network.

Haven't been watching Bravo all that much of late... the latest round of Celebrity Poker Showdown is done, this is the show where 90% of the celebrities play No Limit Texas Hold 'Em very, very badly. 

TiVo still records Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (thanks to TiVO auto-recording wishlist: QUEER), but these days I watch an episode in about 20 minutes... skip through most of it... just get to me the made-over room and man...  and none of Jai's gag-worthy (pun not really intended) "life" philosophizing.  Although, the show may get a much needed boost when the guys hit the road and tackle the straight men of Texas.  And besides Kyan is looking pretty good in a cowboy hat... though not looking forward to hearing about the "products" that can help out "hat head."

So what am I watching?  Well, after some indecision, I finally got around to the first two episodes of the third go-round of Project Greenlight a chance.  We watched the first two season on HBO.  Geesh!  They should really stop doing this show... within an episode and a half it is evident that this is going to be the biggest trainwreck of them all (which is really saying something since the first two films arrived in theaters pretty much DOA).  Much to the dismay of the celeb series "creators," Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, the decision was made to not do the traditional low budget independent film, but a more "commercially viable" horror film. 

Problem is the script they chose would cost a minimum of $20 million to shoot "as is" - they cut it down to around $5-6 million early on... now the studio (Dimension Films) is asking for a $1-2 million budget.  Why chose it in the first place?  Then, they get the writers all hyped up (so much so that they go out and get agents by the 2nd episode!) and then tell them in an early meeting that their script is seriously "flawed" and that they will have to pretty much gut it to fit the budget.

But believe it or not that is not the biggest problem. They chose this very artsy 50-year old-ish director.  He does appear to be very talented... but when it comes to communicating he is just painful to watch.  Timid, intimidated by the "big wigs, often unable to get out a sentence when he does try... but one thing he is not shy about is his desire to cast 4 major roles in the film with his own family and friends, most who have limited or no acting experience.  Oy!  This is very bad...  No spoilers please... I hear you can find some by looking up the film over at imdb.com ... but I'd rather not know.

Okay... back to other Bravo shows... I am looking forward to Showdog Moms & Dads, which premieres next Wednesday, March 30th.  As the title suggests, it is a reality show following folks as they navigate through what seems to be the very eccentric world of dog shows. I am hoping that this will be a "real" version of Best in Show, but I should probably taper my expectation... though I have a suspicion that "truth" may be stranger than fiction.

Off in the future, there are a couple of more shows coming up (though no start dates announced).  First, I can hardly believe they are doing BlowOut 2 - the show that follows the egocentric "master" hair stylist Jonathan as he attempts to be open and maintain a salon in Beverly Hills.  I admit to watching the first season, but it was just painful to watch most of the time (though I managed to "struggle" through it all somehow...haha). 

More looking forward to Kathy Griffin: Life on the D-List - a series that will follow around the comedian as she does her stand-up act and other public appearances.  Just love the snarkiness of Ms. Griffin who does not hesitate to bring the might down and celebrate her own life at the bottom of the celebrity food chain.  Finally, there is Situation: Comedy - another reality/documentary show that will follow the development of a sitcom from an original script submissions... through production... and ultimately the airing of a real pilot episode.  Will & Grace's Sean Hayes is one of the driving forces behind this one.