If you're not going to watch the Olympics?

Nancy Franklin, TV reviewer for The New Yorker, had this to say about ABC's new hit "Wipeout:"

While watching the ABC competition show “Wipeout” when it premièred six weeks ago, I became at moments a truly happy idiot, and I could hear my brain cells, one after another, packing their suitcases and walking out of my head, saying regretfully but firmly, “I’m sorry, I just can’t live here anymore.” Well, fine. Go, then.

Well, you know, it is that time of year--summertime. August is rather a dire month, especiallement if you are not an Olympics fan (like moi). Which means, on the other hand, it is DVD time...

I just started Mad Men with my erstwhile roommate--she is still unconvinced, I am falling for it. The clothes, the patter, the paternalism; on the other hand, I think my roommate may watch for the vicarious joy of nicotine fixes if nothing else. "In the office," she sighs. "In therapy..." "at the doctor's," "on the elevator," those were the days, all right.

And Spaced, the UK show with a rabid cult following, came out on DVD a couple of weeks ago. As that cult following includes not only Diablo Cody (who, I believe, had something to do with the intro or something else on the DVD edition), but also my own personal TV guide (who shall remain nameless, but he knows who he is), I do believe that Spaced is high on my TV DVD list.

Very high.

Maybe August won't be the cruelest month after all. (Yeah, yeah, I know, T.S. Eliot said it was April, but he'd never lived through re-runs of October Road. Cruel and unusual.)

All rumors, all the time

Information overload. Analysis paralysis. Data deluge. Celebrity saturation point.

Whatever.

Check out Truemors, "NPR (or CBC) for your eyes in the sense that it contains unusual breaking news, stories, and rumors like what you'd hear on NPR." At least that's how it describes itself.

I'd say, any site that reports on all of the following: ComCast's $125 million purchase of Daily Candy, Shia LaBoeuf's possible pinky amputation, Got Milk? Yes, in 6000 B.C. and Miss New Jersey's crabs, is the perfect site to check out before heading to any dinner party, bar or other event requiring small talk. Business, celebrity, science, and the just-plain-strange with one click--what more could you ask for?

It's not McWrap... but

On Grub Street today, they commented on Copyranter's blog--they were going on about cannibalism--on Subway's Australian ad campaign (see pic on left). Grub Street just had to one-up them (because you know, that's just how New Yorkers are) by posting about Chickpea's new logo on the front of its store on Houston Street in New York (see pic on right).

On the other hand, they have a point. It does kinda look like a, well, as they put it, "it's cool and all, butt..."

Honestly, this is not a contest I'd want to win.

Oh, McWrap? McDonald's latest marketing brainstorm? Go ahead--say it out loud.