Tuesday, August 4, 1998

On what? On fire?

"Some women hold up dresses that are so ugly and they always say the same thing: 'This looks much better on.' On what? On fire?" — Rita Rudner

Oh, where to begin, where to begin? Well, first off, an apology to both of my faithful readers for the long hiatus. Work, work and rehearsal for the play have intruded on the time I'd alloted for writing pithy intros to weblinks this past week or so. The show goes up on Thursday, so things should calm considerably. Stay tuned!

Big news on the TV front: I've seldom laughed harder than when watching the British comedy improv "game show" Whose Line Is It Anyway? which used to run here in the States on cable's Comedy Central. Now Drew Carey is bringing the show (and a chunk of its cast) across the pond for a summer tryout on ABC. Woohoo! (Since many of the cast will be Brits, this English-to-English translation guide might be helpful.)

Toaster oven, anyone?: As you know, we homosexuals are a wily breed (ahem!), and hell-bent on converting as many hapless heteros as we can. There's even an incentive program — sort of like S&H Green Stamps. And now, someone besides Ellen DeGeneres has taken note: '98 Homosexual-Recruitment Drive Nearing Goal [The Onion]

Of course, our competition is equally keen on converts to "their side," and it appears their message of E-Z change sexuality is gaining some currency, too: Juice: Make Me a Lesbian [Orlando Weekly]

Wrong Answer: Has this ever happened to you? [Brunching Shuttlecocks]

Philip Michaels is the hands-down funniest smartass on the Web (present company excluded, natch. He even manages to stand (barely) above the rest of The Vidiots, the zany crew who produce TeeVee. You can follow his travails at Philip Michaels: The Loser Chronicles — where his current essay, "Service Economy, My Ass!" is rocking the house, or browse vintage Philip in this early Intertext Your Guide to High School Hate.

Electronic "books" are a bad idea, at least in their current conception, writes Jakob Nielson. I agree that the whole book metaphor is wrong for electronic distribution of literature, but — metaphors aside — you will never get me to give up real live books! Jean-Luc didn't! [Alertbox]