Round-house kick the mic out your hand. Drunken mantis, my name brand.

Quick Hitters and Random Thoughts

--Solid read from Maureen Ryan on “12 Things Television Can Learn From Friday Night Lights.” It doesn’t have any spoiler from this season or really any season. It just broad strokes what was so right with this show. I still have the finale to watch, but this season has done nothing but get better and better as its gone along.

--Glad to see Houston on the tryout list later this month for both Top Chef and Top Chef: Just Desserts.

--The fact that there was even speculation about a Robocop statue in Detroit is all kinds of awesome if not for that whole so-realistic-it-hurts future Detroit that the Robocop plot laid out. And I need to seriously consider following Detroit @mayordavebing if he’s going to tweet things like, “There are not any plans to erect a statue to Robocop. Thank you for the suggestion.”

--All right I’m in for The Chicago Code. Not that there was any question considering it had Jennifer Beals, Delroy Lindo, Jason Clarke and Matt Lauria/FNL’s Luke Cafferty. Good stuff from Shield/Terriers creator Shawn Ryan. My only minor quibbles were I didn’t care for the music used and Caleb’s little conversation starters. The guy clearly isn’t in his 30s when a Phoebe Cates reference might make sense and top 10 album covers of all-time topic? I can’t believe anyone has ever brought that up to spur a conversation in at least the last 10 years. It just seemed like forced dialogue unlike the awesome exchange between Wysocki and Caleb regarding Cubs vs. White Sox. Good stuff even though by the end I was Chicago’d out, I get it, the show is in Chicago and Chicago has a rich history. Nevertheless I look forward to what the rest of the season brings.


--This from The Daily Beast on the AOL-Huffington Post deal. “80 percent of its (AOL’s) profits come from a rather seedy little business – charging subscription fees from longtime users who don’t realize that they no longer need to pay for AOL service, and could be getting it free.”
Wow, I can’t believe people are paying AOL subscription fees in 2011. 80% of its profits?!

--LA Times is Magazine of the Week with its photos of Mila Kunis.


--Sorry Texas, but Glee hates you. It’s going on a 16-city North American tour this summer that gets as close to Houston as however far Indianapolis is.

--I never thought there was a question, but it’s nice that it’s official that The League has been picked up for a third season.

--Anything that involves the names Ferris Bueller, Leon Durham, Rafael Ramirez and Claudell Washington deserves your click.

--I gave Catfish a look and yeah, that was my bad. The whole thing could have easily just been an episode of Maury or Tyra or whatever crappy talk show whose lifeblood is stories like these.

--Such a shame that we’re already halfway through Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. Nice to see my boy Crixus start his climb up the ludus ladder. Always nice to see Jaime Murray pouring wine down her nekkid body, as was the style in those days from what I gather. She was made for a role on this show.
Batiatus: Your place in this will not pass without much fucking glory.
Gaia: The kind I favor most.

I’m not a fan of Gannicus the actor or his storyline with Doctore’s wife, but it’s not like it’s going to be long and drawn out and I assume there will be a bloody payoff. There always is.

--UConn is the preseason #1 team according to me and Johnny McEntee. This is what the NFL combine should consist of.


--Confession for Catholics? Yep, there’s an app for that.

--I can’t be alone in hating Deadspin’s new layout.

--Of course there’s going to be a fully nude cooking show in Hong Kong. They’ve got model Flora Cheung doing to cooking. She’s nude, but will have a fully transparent apron because, you know, grease burns are kind of painful anyway.

--Somehow in this age of farm-to-table, whole animal cooking I’ve yet to stumble upon a story like this until now. Apparently a New York restaurant has started selling purses, belts and even footballs made from the hides of the cows and pigs they butcher and cook. Eating a cow and then buying the football its hide created is so Houston. Your move Chris Shepherd.

--Norm Macdonald could just repeat the words “crack whore” for 30 minutes and I’d give it a shot. So Sports Show with Norm Macdonald on Comedy Central will get a look. It’s scheduled for an April premiere.

--Scarlett Johansson and Sean Penn?!

--Honestly who wouldn’t buy a box of Sweethearts Conversation Hearts if they had Phil Dunphyisms like, “You look hot enough to cook a pizza on…in…”

--I wasn’t that much of a fan of most of Treme, but liked all the restaurant scenes and food talk. So that’ll keep me interested as will Anthony Bourdain not only making a cameo appearance, but writing the restaurant scenes.

--Really, really like where Lights Out is going especially the Barry Word/Hal Brennan relationship.

Questions, comments or if you’re not sure you want to live in a world where Dillon is a fictional place…