Holy crap is Lost great this season! Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never been one of those “Lost got so boring” people. It had its share of filler episodes in the 2nd and 3rd seasons, but there was always something great to keep us going, like the spectacular season finales. Last season’s gradual realization that the “flashback” was really the future was one of the best TV show ideas in recent memory. Changing the time structure of the show and turning events on the island into flashbacks has really juiced things up. Now we know that something really bad is going down, and we know that 6 people get off the island. But of course, rather than settling things this just raises more questions. We know Jack, Hurley, Kate, and Sayid make up four of the six, but who are the other two? What the hell is Ben up to, and what was he up to in the past? Ben just keeps getting more and more interesting. It’s amazing to think that he was originally supposed to be a three-episode minor character. Big changes like that make it hard to believe the writers have had a master plan all along, but it makes me glad that they can adapt when the opportunity presents itself.

We don’t have many episodes left in this extra-abbreviated season, so I don’t expect to get any wheel-spinning. I expect nothing but forward momentum, and some real revelations. Maybe even about the smoke monster. But I’m not holding my breath.

Just putting it out there — this is going to be a rambling, pointless post.

I was watching Barefoot Contessa over the weekend and kind of fell in love with Ina Garten again. I really have no idea what her draw is, but Barefoot Contessa is probably Food Network’s single most watchable show.

Part of it is probably envy. The I-really-want-you-to-be-my- friend-ishness of it all. I just want her to center an entire show to her lunchtime date with me and have the whole episode be this labor of love devoted to making it a special affair. Admittedly, Ina always makes her gays work for their keep (they have to bring flowers from their shop or labor in her garden) and although I have no real “skills” to contribute, hopefully poorly-thought-out blog posts will be enough.

This weekend I had one of the gayest moments of my life. I was walking around the city on Saturday with three of my gays, one of whom was carrying a birthday-celebratory banana creme pie he had made from scratch, and I was asked whether I had caught Barefoot Contessa earlier that day. The fact that I was asked this question wasn’t as gay as the fact that I had to respond in the affirmative. The show isn’t a regular talking point amongst my friends, but apparently it is enough of a cultural touchstone amongst my people that it’s a safe bet as to what I did after sleeping in on a Saturday.

And Saturday afternoon/morning’s episode wasn’t necessarily a showstopper, but it was a truly solid effort. Ina was making gazpacho for her friend’s baby shower and the first half of the show consisted of her chopping up a vegetable, pureeing it in the blender and putting it in a bowl. Then chopping up another vegetable and so on and so on. It was hypnotic and, I swear to God, I could’ve watched that shit for HOURS. It was the most relaxing thing I think I could’ve watched.

Who doesn’t love Barefoot Contessa? The answer is no one. Even babies. Babies love Barefoot Contessa. Here’s proof:

In other news, that same morning Giada was making this dessert and now I’m completely obsessed with making it. I’m like a crazy person.

Uh oh! There’s a new cast for Dancing With the Stars. Time to play the C-List Celebrity Realty Show Red Herring Game.

You’ve got to pick the right cast member of the following groups of three. I’ll just tell you now that Marlee Matlin is going to be on it.  Because if I put up a category of “The Deaf Actor,” I don’t think anyone would know any of the other ones.

Ready, go!

The stage thespian: Marissa Jaret Winokur, Jennifer Ehle, Beth Leavel

The radio host: Adam Carolla, Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh

The pretty girl: Carmen Electra, Shannon Elizabeth, Jenny McCarthy

The Latin actor you’ve never heard of: Juan Soler, Cristian de la Fuente, Poncho de Ando

The Veronica Mars guest star: Patty Hearst, Steve Guttenberg, Lucy Lawless

The magician: David Copperfield, David Blaine, Penn Jillette

The singer: Mario, Bow Wow, Nelly

The Presley: Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie Presley, Jamie Pressley

The tennis star: Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Chris Evert

The football player: Jason Taylor, David Martin, Joey Porter

The figure skater: Michelle Kwan, Brian Boitano, Kristi Yamaguchi

Click past the jump to find the answers!

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