the awesome/terrifying freedom

cybill shepard displayed true fearlessness in 'martha inc.' last night by allowing herself to appear on television in bad, wrinkle enhancing lighting. her commitment to the craft is staggering. what's next for cybill? will she gain weight for a role?

'martha inc.' was deliciously trashy, although not as well executed as the 'three's company' movie. we get to see martha as 'the bad seed,' then we get to see martha as tracy flick, then we get to see martha as the raving lunatic we all imagine (and hope) she is.

okay, so i only saw the last ten minues of 'idol' last night.. thank god. in that space i was treated to yet another horrifying rendition of 'god bless the usa.' but strangely, the song's hero josh gracin is missing. wait, ruben can't sing the part about 'my children and my wife!' since josh is unavailable, vanessa olivarez has been suddenly resurrected! god bless vanessa for her openly sarcastic performance of that (let me say it again because it's the defining word of the year) jingoistic blindly nationalistic piece of trite musical refuse.

okay, let me talk for a moment about the shafting of vanessa olivarez. i like vanessa. she's spunky. she has fun hair. she seems like a fun person. she's genuinely 'alternative' unlike that poser nikki mckibbin. she has a pot bellied pig for chrissakes. it seems simon fuller decided that despite being voted into the top 12 her image is a blemish and was therefore completely left off the 'idols 2' cd. why did fuller try to erase one of the most memorable splashes of color in an otherwise bland bunch, perfectly embodied by the popularity of julia roboto?