Off!

To my beloved NYC, which I miss more than I can say. I wish I had more time to spend there, but I'll take what I can get, and it'll be nice to socialize with some old friends.

Oh yeah, there's that debate tomorrow night. Should be fun. It's about the Middle East, after all. How could it not?

I may post from the city, but that'll depend on time, fatigue, and desire. Suffice it to say that this will be a light posting week, though once back in the Midwest, I'll fill you in on all the action, and hopefully will have either video or audio of the debate to share.

It's nice to be back in the game, and there are more events planned for the near future. So the party's just begun.

A few items before I go-go:

Looks like the JonBenet circus has come to another halt, now that the rape and murder charges against John Mark Karr have been dropped. It appears that Karr is pretty disturbed, at the very least, anyway, but not so crazy that he didn't take a shot at tabloid stardom, a desire and dream shared by millions of Americans. Karr's legal woes aren't completely over, as he's going back to Sonoma County, Calif., to face misdemeanor child porn charges. But possessing kiddie porn lacks the media heat that killing America's favorite dead child seriously emits, and apart from a few "Were We Duped?" news specials and kindred self-flagellation, this squalid round is over. Soon it's back to "Who Killed JonBenet?" which at least leaves open a future round of orgiastic necro-porn coverage. One must always look at the bright side of unsolved child murders.

If the news divisions were at all inspired, they would immediately use Karr's dismissal from the narrative as an opening to a new reality show: "I Killed JonBenet!" Each week, three emotionally disturbed individuals attempt to convince a panel of prosecutors, detectives and medical examiners that they were the one who raped and murdered JonBenet Ramsey -- "American Idol" meets Helter Skelter, or something along those lines. If a ratings smash, then the spin-offs come naturally, like "Project: Pedophile," where men and women who are sexually attracted to minors are tempted with graphic photos and films, the winner being the one who can refrain the longest from masturbating. Sorta like "The Contest" episode of "Seinfeld," only illegal and utterly sickening. Not that that would stop an enterprising producer.

The teen and I watched the entire first and only season of "The Comeback" over the past week, which provided a pleasant respite from reading about the insanity of the Middle East. She had never seen it, and like I was first-time around, she became immediately hooked. Lisa Kudrow is marvelous; her character Valerie Cherish, while perky and jovial on the surface, is racked with insecurity and various personal demons, which Kudrow ably and at moments dramatically expresses. While I'm sad that there will be no new episodes, the way the first season ended more or less made further shows superfluous. But if you haven't seen it, do (it's out on DVD). Here's the only decent scene from the show I could find online -- from a rehearsal of Valerie's sitcom, complete with the standard sexual double-entendres and forced laughter from the crew. I've attended these types of rehearsals, and this bit captures the mood perfectly. Of course, Kudrow would know, having worked on "Friends," its writers clearly and harshly lampooned on "The Comeback."



Johnny Cash. Early and late.





Bye, Sonsters. Wish me luck!