So I’ll admit that I got the Barry Manilow greatest hits compilation, Ultimate Manilow. I bring that to light right here at the beginning because it implies immediately what you think it does - that I do, in fact, enjoy listening to Barry Manilow.

So do you. Admit it. The guy is, like, a total pop music icon. He’s like Burt Bacharach - the guy has written songs you probably didn’t even know were his. I learned a new one yesterday - Barry Manilow wrote the theme to American Bandstand. I didn’t even know there were words to that song, other than just “Bandstaaaaand.”

A friend of mine at work gave me the pish-tosh when I showed him the album. He was all, “I bet you listen to John Denver, too.”

Hell, yes, I listen to John Denver. I have some very positive childhood memories associated with that guy. So do you. Who hasn’t wanted a bed that was nine feet high and six feet wide? Saying John Denver sucks is like saying “I hate America and all it stands for.” You just can’t do it.

Moving on.

Buffy last night, as an episode, kinda sucked. Hang on before you bitch-slap me for that. Lots happened - we get some closure on the whole “Riley” issue, we get to see Buffy deal with the Spike affair, we see Xander and Anya come closer together, we witness the rebirth of the Buffy/Dawn sisterhood. As a series of events, it was great. I’ve been waiting for resolution on some of those issues. But as an episode… Suck City. It felt like a bunch of random events strung together like a cheap pearl necklace.

The Self-Made Critic has written a great review of the Britney Spears movie, Crossroads. Yeah, it’s making money, but it sounds about as lame as we all thought it was going to be. The review isn’t on his web site yet (I got it via the mailing list), but keep checking for it. It’s great. (I love the Self-Made Critic. He’s the first critic I’ve found that I almost always agree with.)

Finally, I got my copy of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. It’s a 2-DVD set with loads of extras. I can hardly wait. I think I’m going to watch it at work today. That movie rocks.