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Spoilers below!

This week on SYTYCD: Toni Reopath was a guest judge, and no injuries!! Jump over to the recap and discuss with me.

I’ll start by saying that I am PISSED that the judges kept Jose last week. Words can’t describe my annoyance. They said it was because he’s grown so much in his own style, but that’s not the point of the competition! I’m still really annoyed, so let’s just start with the dancing.

Kent & Anya – A cha cha by Jean-Marc & France. I didn’t like it all that much, he was kind of stiff and, as Mia said, choppy.

Robert & Kathryn – A Stacey Tookey contemporary. I really liked it, especially at the end when it’s Kathryn going instead of Robert. Kathryn was beautiful and Robert was good (at least he didn’t drop her).

Jose solo – It was okay.

AdéChiké & Courtney – Jazz by Tyce. It was cool and fun. They were right, he didn’t let go enough, but I still liked it.

Lauren solo – I liked it, it was good.

Jose & Comfort – Hip hop by Marty Kudelka & Dana Wilson. Didn’t like this so much. Because it was a slow hip hop routine, the dancing really has to be on point. Comfort was great, but Jose bored me. I’m annoyed it’s taken this long for the judges to critique him.

Billy Bell solo – That was a great solo.

Kent solo – Another great solo, I really enjoyed it.

Lauren & Allison – A Broadway routine by Tyce. Lauren started off really strong, but I felt she got tired or something as it went on. I still really liked it though, she danced it so well.

Robert solo – I liked his solo.

Billy & Ade – Another Stacey Tookey contemporary. I’ve missed Ade! This was a great piece, it was much better than her last social justice-y one. It was definitely Billy’s best this season.

AdéChiké solo – He’s such a great dancer! I liked it.

Jose & Kent – A Spencer Liff Broadway number. Maybe I was just tired, but I was a little bored. The best Jose’s done, and Kent’s made for Broadway. Nigel admits Jose’s probably going home this week.

Lauren & AdéChiké – A foxtrot by Jean-Marc & France. It wasn’t a great performance, but it was nice. I disagree with Nigel, though, that there have been so many great performances this evening.

Robert & Billy – Bollywood by Nakul. Sometimes Robert’s face reminded me of a cheerleader, but other than that, they did a great job. It was my favorite of the night.

Jose has to go home this week. The other person going home this week might be AdéChiké. I REALLY hope it’s not Lauren, who was with the medic by the end of the show. I have to say, you couldn’t tell in this episode that the season is almost over. A lot of the dances were just okay and some were boring. Who do you think is going home?

Spoilers Below

This week on True Blood, we got enough blood, guts, and gore to make up for any tame episodes we’ve ever had. Bill and Sookie might die for each other, vampire politics are front and center, and Tara gets gruesome. Discuss with us!

Many are calling this the bloodiest episode yet. What’s your reaction to all the blood and gore?

LAUREN: This was more than bloody, this was blood, bits, gore, kibble, and offal. Holy shit, it was gory. I’ve never wanted a battle axe more in my life.

SALLY: I was surprised at how gruesome it was, yet also happy in some ways? Like in a weird, “I think there’s something wrong with me” way. Actually, more like a “for a show called True Blood, I always thought there’d be more blood” way.

LAUREN: Let’s say I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the gore this week. Any concerns I had that this was going to turn into the “Everyone Make Mooney Eyes This Is a Romance Show” show were alleviated.

SALLY: In the end, isn’t that all that really matters?

Lorena has to kill Bill and there are some interesting scenes between them. Bill says he wishes he’d known her when she was happy; Lorena points out that Bill did at one point enjoy their twisted relationship; Bill says he welcomes death and not having her in his life. What did you think about their interaction in this episode?

LAUREN: Bill’s conception of vampirism has only swung between two extremes — the amoral, wicked killer and the hyper-moral assimilated citizen. I’m glad Bill was finally compelled to admit that he was once morally and emotionally aligned with Lorena, because if he’s ever going to be an interesting character, he’s going to have to find an authentic middle ground. BE YOURSELF, BILL.

SALLY: These scenes were an interesting turn of events. Seeing Lorena confronted with the task of killing someone she’s in love/obsessed with was already intriguing. Then seeing it actually play out in a complex way was satisfying. Not only do we have Bill admitting that he was once as flawed as Lorena, but we have her showing some sort of feeling other than Bill-loving.

LAUREN: She’s kind of acting out what every audience member has been thinking for the last two seasons.

Also at Russell’s, Franklin tells Tara Sookie is there, so Tara communicates to Sookie that she has a plan to escape. She convinces Franklin to untie her, then turns him on by biting into him and drinking his blood. The next morning she wakes up and bashes his head in and makes a run for it. Does this make up for Tara’s misery this season?

LAUREN: …yes? Ha, I would say that I might have stood up in my living room and cheered, but that would be really, really nerdy, so of course I didn’t. Psssssh.

SALLY: I just kept saying “holy crap, is this actually happening?!” I could not believe that after this story playing out as it was, it would suddenly be over by her BASHING IN HIS HEAD. I’m still kind of in shock and waiting for next episode when they’re like haha, jk!

LAUREN: HA. Yes, because vampires are self-healing, right? It would be awesomely B-horror if Franklin just popped up all furious right as Sookie, Tara, and Alcide were making their getaway — with a terrible headache.

SALLY: That would suck for poor Tara.

When Sookie goes looking for Bill, Lorena finds her there and tries to kill her. Did anybody NOT see this coming?

SALLY: So, Sookie kept annoying the crap out of me in this entire episode. Like, so much more than usual or than I expected. When Eric told her to shut up and she didn’t, when she was talking to Russell, when she told Tara she wasn’t leaving without Bill, it was just building up. And then she goes into that room and doesn’t even really look around that much and I’m like “geez Sookie, where’s your brain?! you’re about to DIE!”

LAUREN: Her unquestioning allegiance to Bill is genuinely troubling. If I were her BFF, I’d need to talk with her about the importance of independence and good choices in romantic relationships. Also, how relationships shouldn’t be a string of dangerous dramas. DTMFA.

At the same time, I did have a little empathy for her because she is clearly being toyed with by all these pushy, arrogant, authoritative people, all the while figuring out that she has confusing super powers she’s never been aware of. She’s dealing with a serious mindfuck, and all the while anyone with the power to help her, physical or otherwise, is mocking her or trying to kill her. At this point in the story, if I were Sookie I’d be a big puddle of blood and tears all over the linoleum.

SALLY: Great imagery! I suppose that’s true. Maybe I would’ve felt bad for her if she wasn’t annoying me so. But in reality, she really is sort of at the mercy of these people who don’t tell her the whole story and keep using her as a pawn.

LAUREN: See, usually I’d be irritated with her, but I really feel her confusion, and how helpless she feels trying to bootstrap through all this impossible shit.

In the not Bill/Sookie world, Eric’s getting on Russell’s good side, and the King and Queen will be wed. Thoughts on how this is playing out?

LAUREN: I was as amused by the vampire politics as I was enthralled with Tara’s amazing propensity for violence.

SALLY: This whole storyline had my favorite moment of the night, when the Queen, in her beautiful suit and perfect hair, is sitting in a pile of scratch-offs, excited at winning another $100. It was so great! And just led to more greatness when Eric shows her not to mess with him, when Russell proposes and the smug look on his face when she’s forced to accept. Why can’t we get more of this and less of this Sookie/Bill crap?

LAUREN: Word. Our fellow fans were discussing this in the comments last week and it was interesting to entertain the thought of how this group has been able to organize a power structure over centuries of human change, and how it borrows from the current democratic ideal and from darker feudal times as well, and how things like racism and classism would play out among a group of outsiders who are ageless and without need for some of Maslow’s basics.

Anyway, it was interesting to see how intensely Eric turned on Russell because of a human desire for vengeance. And how Russell sees himself as some kind of environmental purist. And how the queen, despite the assimilationist movement, thought she couldn’t be touched by human legal interventions.

On a sad note, Lafayette and Jesus are done even before really getting started. This can’t possibly be the end already… can it?

LAUREN: Sigh. I sure as hell hope not. The Kiss! The kiss they shared in the car was so sweet and sexy, and then for them to turn around and collectively kick some bigoted ass. There was so much delicious ass-kicking. Having such wonderful characters on TV in your living room every week is cathartic, so I would be terribly disappointed if it was over.

SALLY: I also hope not. Having this be over so soon would be even worse than having it continue and just blow up in Lafayette’s face letter. Better to have loved and lost or something.

LAUREN: Should I point out that almost every new love interest on this show turns into supe gore by the season finale, so maybe Jesus’ days were numbered anyway?

SALLY: Hmmm, good observation. Well, if he must have a gore-licious death in order to give Lafayette some loving, so be it.

The other storylines are rather forgettable. Any other moments that stand out?

LAUREN: What storylines? The only story was Tara bashing Franklin’s head in with a friggin’ MACE. Maybe Jessica, aka Baby Pam, who is suddenly learning to get along by herself. I’m tickled that Jessica’s turning plays out thematically almost like a typical adolescent coming-of-age story — she feels like an outsider, has to learn how to play well with others, and deal with all these weird changes happening to her body.

SALLY: I must say, I kinda love Jessica more each week. Aside from that, I really only have a vague memory that there were other people in this episode besides the vampires and Sookie.

LAUREN: Anyone think Sookie is going to wise up soon? Me neither.

Need some inspiration with your distraction as you wind down the hours to the weekend? Check out nist.tv, the latest addition to the feminist web.

According to creator Anne Jonas:

Nist.tv brings together feminist videos from across the web and embeds them in one place, making them easily searchable and browseable. My hope is that nist.tv can be a useful resource for scholars and activists as well as a general destination for folks who like to watch feminist video. It’s a little bit of a cross between a feminist video archive and a feminist version of something like In Media Res.

I would greatly appreciate your feedback. I would also love to bring on more moderators and organizational partners who would add videos and commentary and give context to the content. We’re working on including exhibits, where a curator would bring together several videos on a topic and discuss them, and other next steps, so we really welcome your ideas!

You can also have a constant stream of feminist videos on your website by adding a nist.tv widget. Widgets can also be made for a particular category, just email me for more information on that.

Anne has kindly shared her email for all feedback and request purposes: anne at pculture dot org

Got a vid you think they should include? If you can’t find it on the site, just click the “submit” button to send it it. (And feel free to link to your fave feminist videos in the comments!)

Spoilers below!

This week on SYTYCD: even more injuries, even more tears, it’s like the episodes are reruns or something. Except with KENNY FREAKIN’ ORTEGA! Jump over to the recap and discuss with me.

Last week, it was Ashley’s turn to leave because of an injury. She was my fave, so I was sad to see her go, but I understand. This week, Billy’s injured, but it seems like he’ll be able to dance next week so hopefully that won’t send him home. Aside from that, it was an… interesting night.

Lauren & Twitch – Hip hop by Tabitha & Napoleon. Twitch, I could do without the color contacts, but Lauren was awesome. She did smile a lot, but her dancing was great and intense. Love.

Jose & Allison – A Sonya contemporary piece. I was bored and I couldn’t tell if it was the choreography or my dislike for Jose or what. But, either way, I was bored and that’s sad.

Robert & Lauren (All-Star) – A jazz routine by Tyce. I liked Robert in this, which surprised me because I’m not a big fan of his. He’s grown on me in the last two weeks.

AdéChiké solo – I really liked this solo. He’s grown on me just like Robert has, it’s interesting…

Kent & Kathryn – A Sonya jazz number. This was uncharacteristically happy for Sonya, but I really liked it. I don’t think Kent outdanced Kathryn, but it was good.

Robert solo – His parents are adorable! The solo was good, I liked the end.

Lauren solo – Her solo was kinda meh, but whatevs.

AdéChiké & Comfort – Lyrical hip hop by Tabitha & Napoleon. Comfort’s great and he’s really good too, but I wasn’t as moved as everyone else seemed to be. Not sure if I missed something there… I mean, I really liked it, but I wasn’t crying or anything.

Jose solo – This is probably his best solo yet, and still I don’t want him to stay.

Kent solo – Not much to say about this one, it was okay. But I did notice for the first time that the audience doesn’t count down during the solos anymore, which is great!

Lauren (competitor) & Robert – A samba by Dmitry. Robert has weird partnering moments that bug me. He’ll have great performances and suddenly almost drop his partner or get clumsy or something else. I’d like him a lot more if not for that. Aside from that, they both did a good job. I think Lauren was smokin’.

ETA (thanks Deborah)
AdéChiké & Jose – A paso doble by Dmitry. The fact that I completely forgot about this pretty much explains how I feel about it. It would have been great if not for Jose’s distracting angry face and AdéChiké being only okay.

Kent & Twitch – A stepping routine by Chuck Maldonado. Twitch stepped in for Billy. So. Okay. 1) Why is there so much music playing during a step? The point of a step is to actually hear the beats you make with your body, not to look cool to random music. 2) I have to admit that I think it would have bugged me to see two white guys stepping. 3) Part of what wasn’t believable about Kent stepping has more to do with his fresh-face look than his race. Stepping is hard, intense, and all about using your body as an instrument. It’s not as much about a character or story or looking nice. I can’t quite describe it, but I know I didn’t like it. P.S. – Totally kept expecting the crowd to start chanting Yo Baby lol

So, I still want Jose to go home – big surprise there, I know. Honestly, if he stays, it will really annoy me. And since we’re getting close to the end now, I’ll say that if Lauren doesn’t win this, I’ll be bummed.

What did you all think? Any Greeks in the readership – as in, Greek-lettered orgs and not nationality – or general fans of stepping? Who do you want to see go home?

A friend passed this to me yesterday, and at first I was like, “Ok, fun and poppy, pretty good. Kinda empowering.” But then, bizarrely, I woke up this morning and it was the only thing I wanted to listen to (over, and over and over**). And now, I’m now passing the infection on to all the Feministe blog-readers.

You’re welcome.

* Gratuitous Music Video Wednesday
** I can’t be the only one that does this, though I might bring playing the same song on repeat to a new level. My iTunes “Top 25 Most Played” is an embarrassment. For example: “Toto, Africa, Plays: 184 (And that was probably in succession over the course of two very emotional weeks in February).

Hat tip to Maria for the vid!

Full lyrics after the jump.

Sara Bareilles
“King of Anything”

Keep drinking coffee, stare me down across the table
While I look outside
So many things I’d say if only I were able
But I just keep quiet and count the cars that pass by

You’ve got opinions, man
We’re all entitled to ‘em, but I never asked
So let me thank you for your time, and try not to waste anymore of mine
And get out of here fast

I hate to break it to you babe, but I’m not drowning
There’s no one here to save

Who cares if you disagree?
You are not me
Who made you king of anything?
So you dare tell me who to be?
Who died and made you king of anything?

You sound so innocent, all full of good intent
Swear you know best
But you expect me to jump up on board with you
And ride off into your delusional sunset

I’m not the one who’s lost with no direction
But you’ll never see
Sara Bareilles King Of Anything lyrics found on http://www.directlyrics.com.com/sara-bareilles-king-of-anything-lyrics.html
You’re so busy making maps with my name on them in all caps
You got the talking down, just not the listening

And who cares if you disagree?
You are not me
Who made you king of anything?
So you dare tell me who to be?
Who died and made you king of anything?

All my life I’ve tried to make everybody happy
While I just hurt and hide
Waiting for someone to tell me it’s my turn to decide

Who cares if you disagree?
You are not me
Who made you king of anything?
So you dare tell me who to be?
Who died and made you king of anything?

Who cares if you disagree?
You are not me
Who made you king of anything?
So you dare tell me who to be?
Who died and made you king of anything?

Let me hold your crown, babe.

I mentioned the other day that I was fortunate enough to recently revisit Melbourne, my favourite city in all the world. (Not that I’ve left southeastern Australia since I was about… four.) I love it for its friendliness, its food, its gardens, the amazing little alleys, the artiness, the FAIRY PENGUINS and, well, not so much that crisp wind coming off Antarctica.

What I want to know from you, Feministers, is if you have a favourite place to go. Perhaps it’s where you live or where you’re from, or somewhere you visited just the once. Or perhaps you’ve not done much or any travelling and there’s a place you like the sound of. Links to pictures (with descriptions) are requested!

Spoilers below!

This week on SYTYCD: more injuries, even more tears, and Cat should get her own show. Jump over to the recap and discuss with me.

Last week, Alex left due to his injury. This week, Ashley is the one injured, so hopefully she won’t leave based on that. But it was a good night, so let’s get to it. Oh, and sorry again for no videos, they’re really starting to crack down on those (every time I find one, it’s gone the next time I go back) =/

Lauren & Mark – A “cultural” dance by Taina Liufau, which was a Tahitian dance. Lauren did really well, my legs killed just watching her. She has officially become my favorite.

AdéChiké & Anya – A salsa routine by Liz & Danny. That was really intense — so many stunts! He almost dropped her in the beginning and some of the harder stuff wasn’t smooth, but he did a good job with the regular steps and typical stunts. Not his best, but it was good.

Jose & Courtney – Broadway by Joey Dowling. I love Mr. Cellophane! Such a great song. The routine was not good, and I’m glad the judges said so. Heaven forbid you take away smiles and focus on dance on a dance competition.

Robert & Allison – Travis contemporary piece that stole the show. Emotional routines are often good, but this was INCREDIBLE. I loved it and I’ll admit that even though I’m not a Robert fan, I thought to myself “I’m so glad he stayed in the competition long enough to perform this.” It was definitely his best dancing.

Billy & Anya – Jive by Louis Van Amstel. They weren’t always together, and that slightly annoyed me, but I think he did a good job. He did connect with her, and that was good to see.

Kent & Neil – A Tyce Broadway routine. Kent and Neil need to be on Broadway right now. It wasn’t emotional or overly done or anything like that, and yet I really liked it! They were so in sync, they danced it so well, Kent was so good!

Lauren & Billy – A jazz piece by Mandy Moore. It was an adorable piece and lots of fun to watch – it really suited both of them. Lauren is incredible! I loved her tonight.

Jose & Dominic – The show’s first ever breaking routine by Tabitha & Napoleon (with help from Legacy!). It was great to see breaking on the show, but I have to say that even in his own style, Jose isn’t fast and doesn’t have as much power as others who have been on the show. Also, why did everybody look like they were gonna cry? I doubt he’ll be in the bottom after dancing his style, but I hope so…

AdéChiké & Kent – A Dee Caspary contemporary piece. I really enjoyed it and I thought they were both great. The choreography really suited them.

Robert (& Kathryn) – Disco by Doriana. I love disco! I wasn’t really watching Robert, I have to admit. But what I did see of him was good.

I loved Lauren this week, she is so great, and Kent has grown a lot as well. I want Jose to go home. Still. But I would be fine if Billy left at this point. This was probably my favorite night of the season. Certainly, there weren’t any major let-downs.

What did you all think?

SPOILERS BELOW.

This week on True Blood, it was violence galore. Bill breaks up with Sookie, Eric’s club gets raided, blood (vampire and human) is all over the place, everyone’s basically miserable.

The episode starts with Sookie getting a call from Bill to let her know that it’s over. He tells her he had sex with Lorena and says they were doomed from the start anyway, blah blah. Do we still care? Did we ever?

SALLY: Sookie boohoohooing about Bill was one of the funniest things ever. Topped only by Alcide pretty much mocking Sookie the next morning for still wanting to find Bill.

LAUREN: There were indeed a lot of good one-liners this Sunday. I liked the formality of Bill breaking up with Sookie, and Sookie’s, “Shut the fuck up.” Also, crying, “I don’t have a nutsack!”

SALLY: Also, when Alcide is comforting Sookie and she’s all “you’re warm,” it was much funnier but also less hot than when they do that in Eclipse. (Which I saw. Don’t judge me.)

LAUREN: Not a Twilight fan, I have to say. Apparently I prefer my vampires EXTRA VIOLENT??? Was this episode not the most violent one we’ve seen yet (forgetting the one where Sookie chops off someone’s head with a shovel)? Or maybe I should just say that this is the episode in which we are meant to be reminded that OUR vampires and werewolves are not sparkly, love-obsessed teenage ancients, OUR vampires and werewolves are fucking animals.

SALLY: It really was quite violent! What is up with this dark turn we’ve taken into vampire-dom?! Calm down, True Blood, calm down.

LAUREN: WE ARE TRUE BLOOD. WE ARE NOT TWILIGHT. OR THAT ONE SHOW ON WB.

Tara is being held captive by Franklin. He uses her to try to find out exactly where Sookie is and what she’s up to, but doesn’t get enough information. He kidnaps Tara and brings her to Russell’s mansion. What is Franklin up to and how will Tara get away?

SALLY: Sooooo, this storyline is starting to make me really uncomfortable. He keeps getting increasingly violent with Tara and at this point she’s just a vehicle for him to get what he wants, presumably Sookie.

LAUREN: I’m also made a little uncomfortable with these scenes, and I feel like to talk about them on a feminist blog is to first issue a serious trigger warning. We talk about this show because we like the show, but to watch it is to jump in knowing the show walks the edge of sex and violence, something that can be deeply disturbing to trauma survivors. This particular storyline is very creepy, very disturbing, and will be very triggering for people who have been in claustrophobic, manipulative, abusive relationships.

I don’t really know what to say about this storyline, but so far the tone it’s setting is uncomfortable and not in a good-television kind of way. Rutina Wesley is a friggin’ scream queen (in the good-television kind of way) but the storyline is still edging around some bad territory. I need to see where it goes to comment further.

SALLY: My hope is that she’ll escape soon. That must be what’s coming, right? Please let that be so, because I don’t want it to keep going down this road.

Sam’s family is still around. He has a heart to heart with his brother who feels responsible for his parents and can’t get away to live his own life until they’re dead. Sam confronts his parents and says he’ll give them a place to stay if they stop stealing and drinking. Where’s this storyline going?

LAUREN: Sam has to choose whether to be tied down by his history or whether to set down his baggage. I think he sees his baby brother as a way not only to connect with his history, but to redeem himself, but the bad, drunken parents, unfortunately, come with the brother. I’m still willing to bet Sam’s going to come out with the shit end of the stick on this one.

SALLY: Yeah, I can’t help but feel like he’s getting set up in a major way. Mostly because I still find the brother weird as all heck. Oh, and the fact that his parents are clearly untrustworthy.

LAUREN: There’s something going on there, but this thread is just inching along. In due time?

Jessica becomes the new hostess at Merlotte’s, where somebody recognizes her from bible study. She takes him outside to glamour him so that he forgets seeing her or stopping there. Is this a sign that Jessica’s finally maturing and taking care of herself?

SALLY: I was really happy to see how Jessica handled this. Considering that the whole killing a man and then hiding him thing only happened, like, two days ago or something like that in t.v. time, I wasn’t sure what she’d do. To see her trying a more rational approach this time around was nice.

LAUREN: Yes, it was definitely a coming of age moment for Jessica, where she problem-solved without flailing around and causing a scene first.

SALLY: But, of course, we can’t really talk about this scene without mentioning Hoyt. Was I the only one slightly bothered by him creeping around spying on her? I get that they’re basically the young love on this show, but still.

LAUREN: No! I had a similar thought. Yes, their missed connections are bittersweet drama, but it’s ironic to me that it’s Jessica’s evolution of maturity that Hoyt sees as a betrayal. Yeah, for all he knows she is sweet-talking another dude. Sure. But in this moment Jessica is also becoming more self-reliant and that is part of Hoyt’s personal tragedy.

SALLY: Exactly, and I think it’s also interesting to consider Hoyt’s resistance to taking Jason’s “sleep with another woman and you’ll forget it” attitude. Is it possible that Hoyt might end up bordering on Nice Guy TM? I hope not, cuz he’s cute as a button with Jessica and I still want them to end up together.

Eric’s off having fantasies about Sookie, but soon he’s got other things to worry about. Bill tells Russell about Eric selling vampire blood for the Queen and the Magister raids the club. Eric tells the Magister that Bill’s setting them up and Eric’s looking for him. Will Eric really look for Bill or do you think he has another plan in mind? And do we have more Eric/Sookie fantasies to look forward to?

LAUREN: Nooooooooooo. I don’t want them to actually do it and ruin my badass Eric Northman (Eric Northman doesn’t have feelings for HUMANS), I want them to have witty banter about doing it or not doing it for another three seasons, thank you.

SALLY: Does the actual touching ruin it? I can see that…

LAUREN: Let’s just say I like the running theme of pining for a rejecting humanity in the vampire community, and Pam and Eric have been so compelling in part because they love being blood-drinking, speed-fucking vampires. And speaking of which, was it just me or was this episode heavy on porn-like music?

SALLY: Particularly at strange moments, from what I remember (except, of course, I deleted the episode from my DVR already so can’t check).

LAUREN: Basically whenever there was a musical score it was all Bow Bum Bum Chicka Bow Bowm interspersed with buckets of blood, hair and/or clever dialogue.

SALLY: Basically!

Sookie distracts herself by playing Ms. Fix-It with Alcide and his ex, Debbie. She learns that Debbie is being initiated into the vampire blood-drinking gang and go to save her. There, they discover that Debbie’s fiance was one of Bill’s kidnappers and Russell is feeding them blood. Will Alcide and Sookie turn to Eric with what they’ve learned? What will he do now that he’s got other problems of his own?

LAUREN: Vampire politics, who knew? It’s interesting that the warring king and queen are corrupt drug dealers — of a drug considered sacrilegious to sell by an even greater moral-political power. One side is depending on Bill, and the other side is framing him, and this can only be resolved by whomever can manipulate his or her power and influence the best. Seeing that the queen is erratic and unreliable, it’s going to fall back on Eric and company. This season is going to be all about nepotism and corruption. And it’s going to be awesome.

SALLY: The moral of the story is basically “most people in power are equally corrupt and more alike than you realize.” Or perhaps that was just me thinking about the general “Democrats & Republicans are basically the same” argument… Either way, I’m confident that Eric will take the lead in this situation and hopefully work closely with Bill in one of those moments where they put aside all the other problems to get rid of the baddies.

LAUREN: Indeed! They will have to Put-Aside-Their-Problems-And-Work-Together, and then Sookie will have to Make-A-Choice between her moral/life saviors, but there will be another Powerful-But-Sensitive-Dangerous-Man-Character with whom she will have Very-Marketable-Sexual-Tension. Wherever will this go?

SALLY: This is starting to sound like an episode of Lost…

LAUREN: Then on the flip side there is another corruption tale taking place on the human side of Bon Temps, where one of the deputies points out that all Andy Bellefleur had to do to make Sheriff is to “drink like a fish, hallucinate farm animals, and kill a black man.” Notable, too, that Jason is going to blackmail Andy into making him a police officer.

SALLY: I completely forgot about this scene! And yet I remember watching it and thinking “ohhhhh snap.” This is one storyline I do want to see continue. The others are letting me down on multiple fronts.

LAUREN: Yeah, I just realized there isn’t one relationship on the show that is up-front and honest. Not one! And it’s bittersweeet that Sookie believes that her relationship with Bill isn’t colored by underhandedness and manipulation.

SALLY: On a final note, dude, can Sookie just mind her own business for once?

LAUREN: No.

Spoilers below!

This week on SYTYCD: injuries, tears, Nigel learns how to use the internet, and Cat talks back. Jump over to the recap and discuss with me.

So last week, Melinda FINALLY left, and I cheered even though we all expected it at that point. The real news this week was Alex’s injury… I felt bad, of course, especially because I want to see if his hip hop last week was just a fluke and what he’s like in other styles. But, really, it’s not that serious. Injuries are bad and, ok, he’ll be in the bottom 3 but they’re not going to get rid of him if there’s any chance in hell that he can dance next week. So having them spend so much time talking about it kind of annoyed me and at one point I actually said to my t.v. “get the hell over it, let’s move on.” So that’s what I’m going to do now – on to the show!

Oh, and sorry for the lack of videos, most of them have been taken down – I shall keep looking!

Lauren & Pasha – A cha cha by Jean-Marc and France. I have to say, I really liked it and suspect that Mary would’ve put them on the hot tamale train. There were some slip-ups, but she has totally matured and she shined in this dance.

Jose & Lauren – Contemporary by Mandy Moore. This was his best dance in the competition so far, but, really, Lauren is a great partner (as much as I hate her) so I’m not sure how much of that was him actually being good…

Kent & Comfort – A Dave Scott hip hop routine. This routine suited Kent and I’m glad he took the critique from last week and fixed his face. Definitely better than Billy’s hip hop, it was good.

AdéChiké & Courtney – A jazz routine by Mandy Moore. Ok, I think the choreography (also in Mandy’s other routine) is the real problem, not him. I think he danced it well and he’s good at the sexy routines because he can open up a bit more and have fun, but the choreography just wasn’t that great. There wasn’t much to work with and I was annoyed that the judges took it out on him.

Billy & Katie – Broadway by Spencer Liff. Poor Allison was injured, but I was glad to see Katie back. I… didn’t enjoy this as much as the judges. He danced it incredibly well, but I couldn’t tell what character he was playing which is the point of Broadway, no?

Ashley & Dominic – Hip hop by Tabitha & Napoleon. The concept was strange, but she did really well, and good for her after everyone doubting she could do something other than contemporary. Great job.

Robert & Kathryn – A Sean Cheesman jazz number. 1) Nigel, it’s not about whether or not Robert actually IS arrogant, it’s that something about his personality seems a bit fake and can be taken as arrogance. 2) THIS ROUTINE WAS NOT THAT GOOD! He almost dropped her and he wasn’t there for her at all. Yes, personality-wise he got it, but Robert is a much better dancer/partner than he was in this routine so please shut it, judges.

AdéChiké – Bollywood by Nakul. Serious question, are there no other Bollywood choreographers? As for the dance, he wasn’t as sharp as he could’ve been, true, but Nigel made it seem like he bombed and I was ecstatic that Cat stood up to them, which made Mia defensive. Drama.

Lauren & Kent – A Travis contemporary piece. This routine was really nice, and I couldn’t help think that Mollee & what’s-his-name from last season wouldn’t have danced this as well and as maturely as Lauren & Kent, which shows how much they’ve grown.

Robert & Ashley – Quickstep by Jean-Marc & France. The dance of death, but they survived. They were a bit bouncy and their steps could’ve been lighter, but Ashley looked lovely and Robert was okay.

Jose & Billy – Sean Cheesman’s African jazz. So, this was not wonderful, and there’s really not much more to say than that lol.

I really want to comment on the judges for a bit. Every season, they have their faves and try to suggest who should get the votes and who shouldn’t, but it’s out of control this season. Robert’s first performance didn’t even get critiqued because it was a love-fest; don’t know what the hell AdéChiké did to piss off the judges, but they’re gunning for him to leave; Jose only got real criticism after Cat talked back to the judges – this is getting ridiculous! Jose doesn’t deserve to be here no matter how much he smiles. Yes, he embraces the competition, but so do other dancers who take critique and grow the next week (like Lauren), but the judges still critique her every week. I don’t even really like AdéChiké that much, but I still recognize his growth. I don’t get it…

Anyhoo, Lauren & Ashley were the best of the night while Jose & Robert were the weakest. I hope Jose gets the boot.

Thoughts? Predictions? Gripes about the judges? Let it all out!

Planned Parenthood’s Summer, Sex and Spirits annual fundraiser is TONIGHT, Thursday, July 8. Here’s the info again:

Location: Museum of Sex, 233 5th Ave @ 27th St. New York, NY
Date: 7/8/2010 from 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm (Eastern Time)
Hosted By: Planned Parenthood of New York City
RSVP to activists@ppnyc.org by: July 8, 2010 at 4:00 pm (Eastern Time)

We’re giving away another ticket to the first person who emails me the correct answer to the following question. Congrats to blaney for getting the second ticket! The correct answer is D.

Which of the following is not a function of the vagina?
A. to allow menstrual flow to leave the body
B. to allow sexual penetration to occur (either by hand, sex toy, or penis)
C. to allow a fetus to pass through during vaginal delivery
D. to allow urine to leave the body

Even if you don’t win, you can join me, Steph, and other awesome people and buy tickets for the event and enjoy the open bar, silent auction, and raffle prizes.