When I purchased three copies of Saturday’s Omaha World-Herald, the guy behind the counter asked if I had just gotten a new puppy. He assumed I needed them for housebreaking purposes.

Silly, him! I explained to “Jake” (I don’t know his name) that the reason I was buying so many was because my picture was in the paper. Seriously! I was interviewed for an article on “Mad Men,” and they included my head shot in the piece.

Unfortunately, my photo is not on their website, but you can read why I love “Mad Men” right here.

Why do you love the show? What did you think about last night’s season premiere?

(image via Omaha World-Herald)

I take partial credit for Betty White’s appearance on “Saturday Night Live” this past weekend; I was a member of the Facebook group that petitioned for her to be the host. And she did not disappoint! I heard that she had a hard time reading the cue cards, so she memorized all of her lines for every sketch. Incredible, especially considering she’s 88 1/2-years-old.

It was hard to pick a favorite skit from last Saturday’s show. I really loved every time B.W. shouted “Lesbian!” during the Gingey sketch, and “Wizard of Ass!” during the Scared Straight segment was definitely memorable. But I think I laughed the most during the NPR skit above.

One of the reasons I adore Betty White so much is because she reminds me of my grandmother, who turned 95 on Sunday. Here’s a photo of my grandma and grandpa sharing a ginormous soda at her birthday lunch courtesy of my sister. Wish I could’ve been there!

If you were as obsessed with the tween book series “The Baby-Sitters Club” by Ann M. Martin as I was growing up, you probably also watched the terribly cheesy TV adaptation starring absolutely nobody famous.

In honor of the new BSC prequel by Martin, Lemondrop dug up some clips from the TV show and found one featuring guest star ZACH BRAFF as Dawn’s potential love interest. I pinky swear that I recognize his character, but I can’t remember if my 10-year-old self thought he was cute. At the time it probably didn’t matter because Dawn’s character was one of my least favorite (I was never what you’d call a “hippie”), and I didn’t really care what happened to her. I was definitely more of a Stacey and or a Claudia. Who was your favorite BSC member?

And how many of you tried to start your own baby-sitters club? You can bet that my friends and I did, sticking fliers in neighborhood mailboxes, although I don’t think we ever got any jobs.

I spied these three trends on the red carpet last night:

1. Dresses with poofy/frilly/drapey bottoms
2. Oversized earrings
3. Bedhead

What were your favorite looks? Least favorites? Personally, I hated all of the messy, frizzy updos. And I didn’t think Sandra Bullock successfully pulled off those bright pink lips. Maybe she should have stuck with a more classic red.

(images via People.com)

Besides men’s figure skating, I’ve enjoyed watching anything have to do with snowboarding this Olympics – specifically, anything having to do with men on snowboards (see Shaun White, above), including snowboard cross and half-pipe. Don’t worry ladies, I’m not totally prejudice. I was rooting for my girl Julia Mancuso during the women’s ski events. (I may be the only American who is not a Lindsey Vonn fan. She just seems like such a diva. And, as someone commented on Twitter, she looks like a Seventeen magazine cover model from the 80s. Not sure that’s a compliment.)

What haven’t I been enjoying? Ice dancing! The costumes themselves almost make the “sport” unwatchable – and I’m not really convinced ice dancing is truly a sport. It’s definitely more of a performance, isn’t it? What do you think?

The pics in this post are from a photo essay by Ryan McGinley, The Highfliers, which beautifully captures some of our favorite Olympians up in the air, doing what the do best – including Mollytic‘s favorite, Johnny Weir (below).

(via you are my fav)

Shame on me for not paying any attention to the U.S. men’s figure skating team before last night’s short program–especially the theatrical Johnny Weir. Thankfully Mollytics’s enthusiasm for the self-proclaimed Russophile is contagious. I wasn’t sure what to expect from his performance, as I had never seem him skate previously — I thought he was going to perform to Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” — and I found him to be graceful, strong and artistic. Boo to those who say he isn’t as much of an athlete as the tall, dark and handsome Evan Lysacek. Here’s a secret: you HAVE to be athletic to pull off the jumps and spins that ALL of the figure skaters do.

Some of the tweets I read about @johnnygweir during the men’s first competition were disheartening. His fans truly that homophobia impacts how he is perceived by the commentators and, maybe, the judges. Sure, his pink corset and single shoulder tassel were a bit effeminate, but were Evan Lysacek’s ruffles and wrist feathers any more masculine? (Sorry, Vera Wang.) Did Johnny not execute his program nearly flawlessly? Yet all the commentators could talk about was his costume and his off-the-ice antics. They ignored the fact that he, too, is competing for a medal. Boo, again.

Per Mollytics, I followed Marissa’s live blogging during the men’s short program and look forward to her (and her mom’s) thoughts during the long program. And just so we’re on the same page, I would be happy if Evan were to win the gold medal. I just think that Johnny deserves to be taken more seriously. Go Team U.S.A.!

Click here for a great piece on the theatrics of men’s figure skating.

(image source)

In the summer of 2008, J was on his first deployment, and I was spellbound by the Summer Olympics in Beijing. I watched all of Michael Phelps’s events and as much gymnastics as I could fit into my day. And don’t get me started on the Opening Ceremony. Could it have been any more spectacular?

Tonight the Winter Olympics kick off in Vancouver, and I’m curious to see how their version of the Opening Ceremony. I doubt it will be as lavish as it was in Beijing but that doesn’t mean it still won’t be enchanting. Will you be watching?

(image source)

What makes you laugh? In addition to “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” reruns of “Whose Line is it Anyway?” are guaranteed to brighten my mood. The improvisational comedy show was hosted by Drew Carey and ran for 6 seasons on ABC. Did you watch it? When my husband is out of town on business I’ll sometimes fall asleep to old episodes airing on cable; I know I’ll have happy dreams.

On Sunday, May 9, two of the show’s stars, Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood, will be performing at the Holland Performing Arts Center. Their improv show, “The Third Annual Farewell Tour,” is like a live version of “Whose Line is it Anyway?” Audience participation? Check! Wit and hilarity? Check! Me, laughing my ass off? Check… I hope!

(image source)

I agree with Paige. Although the Super Bowl ad for Snickers featuring Betty White got me giggling, Google’s Parisian Love ad was my favorite of the night. It was simple yet thoughtful and, despite being about a search engine, elicited an emotional response.

This video clip from Britain’s Got Talent proves that you can’t judge a book by its cover and that everybody deserves a fair shot. Watch the whole thing with sound (it goes quickly) and tell me if you didn’t get a bit choked up by Susan Boyle’s performance.

PS: I don’t know why I can’t embed You Tube video and it’s totally frustrating me! Where there should an embedding code on You Tube it says, “Embedding disabled by request.” Huh?

PPS: Thanks, Lindsey, for sending this my way.