Some Quick Hitters

Okay, so I meant to swing right back through on Tuesday, but that didn't happen. This is primarily due to the fact that I've spent the last 36 hours in quiet reflection about the deep mysteries of life. I definitely meditated for about a day and a half. No eating, no sleeping, just pondering eternity. I was deeply shocked to learn, upon my return to reality, that this 'Anonymous' person must really like what I have to say! Anonymous, thank you for being the marinara sauce that accompanies the mozzarella sticks that are this nifty little bump on the Internet roadway.

Gotta make this one quick, party people. And as you've undoubtedly figured out, quick for me is like, I don't know, what ... a college textbook or something? Are those things longer nowadays? I know they were no picnic to get through in the late 1990s.

Just want to toss out some goodies about Monday Night's Cowboys-Panters matchup, as well as Sunday night's new episodes of Mad Men and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Dallas 21, Carolina 7

You want to know what silence almost sounded like Monday night? Well, you would have heard it loud and clear inside Dallas' brand new multi-billion dollar stadium had the Cowboys lost their second straight regular-season game to christen Jerry Jones' palatial estate. But Dallas came through when it needed to, and Carolina took a collective dump in the worst way. Consider this - Panthers QB Jake Delhomme, who just signed a pretty hefty contract extension in the offseason mind you (great call Panthers front office!), has 7 Interceptions against just 2 TD passes this year so far, and is carrying around a chubby 54.3 QB passer rating. Lawd Have Mercy. Can Carolina pull one of the top high school seniors in the greater Charlotte area maybe to step in and show Jake how to play QB? This is downright sad. Don't know what else to say. Don't just stick a fork in Carolina and Delhomme, but rather Paul Bunyan's axe. As for the Cowboys? Possible playoff team, but at this point I don't see them getting as far as, say, the NFC Championship Game. Giants, Vikings and Saints rule the NFC at the moment. And please, let's lose the Jerry Jones press-box shot every 5 minutes. If I wanted to see a zombie 15 times an hour I'd just replay Michael Jackson's Thriller video on a youtube loop.

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MAD MEN

Maybe Don Draper is a mere mortal after all. I have to say, the first couple of Mad Men episodes to open Season 3 had me a little doubtful. But they've reigned it all back in beautifully. Oh, I guess here is where I should do the 'SPOILER ALERT' warning, but seeing as how it's Thursday already, you're not really that in love with this show if you haven't seen the newest episode by now.

Anyhoo, Don is not infallible, as we are learning. He inked his name on that dotted line, giving up some of the power he had over the big-wigs at Sterling Cooper (d/b/a Putnam Powell and Lowe), and he made a classically not-so-bright Don Draper move by picking up those hitch-hiking kids after a fight with Betty, only to get knocked out and have his money taken. Hey man, at least they didn't snake the ride. That would have been a total bummer. Peggy did the deed with Duck (he's really become a slimeball, no?), and Bert Cooper reveals that he knows a little more about Don Draper than pretty much anyone else does. Some other stuff of note went down (Betty is having thoughts about, and meetings with, another man!), but the Draper stuff was nailed beautifully this time, as per usual. Kudos, awesome show.

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CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM

Oh Larry. Let's just say, for a moment, that there is a hell. Not only do you have a first-class ticket, but I'm quite sure there is an inferno-tour guide's jacket with your name on it as we speak. I'm talking about of course none other than Larry David's plot to dump his cancer-stricken girlfriend, played by Vivica A. Fox, so that he can get Cheryl back. By the end of the episode - Another SPOILER ALERT - this is reconciled more seamlessly than one might have imagined. But there's still tons of shenanigans. It was a decent episode, but probably for me the highlight was seeing the female Dr. Phil-type doctor go apeshit on Larry when he explained why he and his girlfriend missed her seminar given the previous day.

And for anyone who remembers the lawyer Weinstock from Season One (in the episode 'The Wire'), he returns with an appropriately irritating display of behavior. When Larry learns that Weinstock has cancer though, he backs off from their dispute. The next episode is where things will really pick up, as the Seinfeld cast becomes re-introduced into the mix one by one.

To summarize, don't you love how I assume that people are reading this page to learn what happened on two of the more popular, well-followed shows on cable three full days after the fact? Okay then, it's back to the practice of eastern medicine for the next 3-4 days. Until then, Fogo de Chao!