You may recall a PopWatch Confessional where I admitted that I knew what number the Hallmark Channel is on my cable. If so, you won't be surprised to hear that I was thrilled to read this headline in Variety yesterday:

Hallmark sets impressive line-up

Network commissions 30 original pics for '08

Unfortunately, I kept reading.

"Hallmark's target demo is adults 25-54, but skewed toward the older end of that range. A detailed Magna Global report two weeks ago said that the average age of people who watched Hallmark's primetime schedule from October through May was 63, making it the second-oldest cable network, behind Fox News, which averaged 65-plus." Seriously? I haven't felt this old* since I stopped going to concerts that are standing only. (Wait, more recently, I watched The Sound of Music and for the first time, wondered if I'd be woman enough to help Captain von Trapp and his seven children flee Austria.) Anyone else feeling old today?

* My inappropriate crush on Daniel Radcliffe post from roughly 24 hours ago not withstanding

I've been remiss, PopWatchers. It's been more than 18 months since I brought up a subject of vital pop-cultural importance: TV catchphrases! And while it's hard to fight the nostalgic urge to travel back to the simpler times of December 2005, when I was entertaining friends, coworkers, myself by regularly shouting things like "Hell to the no!" and ''I don't need to see that" (now a classic), today, it's time to move forward. In that spirit, I give you the three TV-coined zingers from the last year or so that seem to be popping up in way too many of my current convos.



3) "Gay P.B." A handy twist on A.P.B. ? coined by Ugly Betty's Marc (Michael Urie) ? best used when you're trying to get the scoop from your gays.



2) "I just wanna tell you that some people have war in their countries." Who could forget when Natasha, runner-up from the latest cycle of America's Next Top Model, used this earnest zinger in response to whiny Brittany's temper tantrum? (For the uninitiated, the brilliant folks at FourFour have the audio clip.) Trot this one out when someone you love desperately needs a perspective check.



1) "Did you just gesture at me when you said Kwanzaa?" Modify this one any way you like: "Did you just gesture at me when you said skittish?" "Did you just gesture at me when you said tapas?" "Did you just gesture at me when you said Klimpy's?" Still, you'll never make it as delicious as the original, uttered with icy perfection by Vanessa (L. Yeah) Williams, as Ugly Betty's Wilhelmina.



Now it's your turn, PopWatchers: List your favorite recent TV catchphrases in the comments section below!

As I walked out of the beautiful Fairmont Miramir Hotel in sunny Santa Monica, I looked out at an orange sun hanging lazily over the dark blue expanse of the Pacific, and cursed myself for waiting until May to book a hotel, thereby ensuring I would not be staying at one of the lovely hotels that line Ocean Avenue. Thus, I now find myself ensconced 20 minutes away in Westwood, at the beautiful and lovely W. Where a major renovation is underway and calls made to the front desk about the sawing and hammering and drilling are answered by a patient and not wholly unsympathetic clerk who will explain that the work can not be halted and will, in fact, continue until the end of the day. And where the in-room Internet connnection ($15/day) can be spotty and very slooooooow. (Although, the problem just might be with the Web browser in the laptop I borrowed from work.) So tonight's E3 round-up will be brief, as I will soon down a beer and ponder these (embarassingly petty) inconveniences. In fact, I'm gonna keep my notes for a later date and get right to your questions and comments.

Let's get to it:

Console Shmonsole. E3 is all about the 3 major consoles that consumers complain about, yet still shell out major bucks for inept systems with limited games. Where are the PC games? I searched and searched only to find great games are not for the PC. When will the publishers learn that us PC gurus still exist and actually account for more games sales than console related games. Check these out and report back (if you can)... Bioshock - August, Timeshift - October, and Haze/UT 3 - November ? PC_pawnage

An FPS fan, huh? Okay, I'll admit that some games do look better and run faster on top-line PCs, if you admit that keeping up with the latest graphics- and sound-cards can be an expensive proposition. I'm assuming that you're inquiring about the PC versions of the titles you mentioned, so here goes: I didn't get a chance to see TimeShift, and only saw 2K's BioShock ? in stores Aug. 21 ? running on the Xbox 360, but what I saw looked pretty darn good. There seem to be a lot of different ways to take out the bad guys, and the game seems to reward out-of-the-box thinking. HAZE and Unreal Tournament 3 I saw at the Sony briefing, both on the PS3. They both looked pretty great ? UT3, running on the Unreal 3 engine: HAZE using something called 'Nectar' ? but, frankly, it's hard to be critical when you're viewing a game on a 40-foot screen with the volume turned to '11'. Let me ask you a question: What's your take on Games for Windows Vista?

That JAmie Kennedy as fuanny as cancer once again. ? mark in nyc

Trust me, even you would've felt sorry for Jamie Kennedy. The dude died up on stage.

I'd love to know about any upcoming DS and Wii releases (sooo excited about Super Smash Brothers!). And since most of the games I play are RPGs, info on upcoming titles, primarily, Japanese RPGs, for the DS, Wii, PS2 and the PS3. As a side note, I'm giddy about the upcoming Final Fantasy releases (granted I don't have a PS3 yet...but its going on my bridal registrty, thank god my future husband is also a gamer). Any street dates for the FF Tactics games or Dissidia(both DS and PSP-I'm buying a PSP just to get the FF Tactics port as its my favorite game of all time)? And on the PC front, any news on the upcoming Guild Wars releases would be appreciated? ? Auriana

I know you like RPGs, 'cause I remember you asked about them last year. (Were you as disappointed as I was with FFIII for the DS? I did like FFIV, though.) You asked a lot of questions (too bad I'm not paid by the word), but I'm afraid they didn't give a whole lot of info on a lot of the titles you mentioned. I do know that Heroes of Mana and FFXII: Revenant Wings (both for the DS) should be in stores by August and November, respectively. And you should be happy to learn that Sony signed a deal with NCSoft, the publisher of Guild Wars ? keep your fingers crossed, they said that some of their existing franchises may be available for the PS3 and PSP on the PLAYSTATION Network. And congrats on your upcoming wedding!

Wook, video games shmideo mames. The only reason people went to the E3 was for the porn conference that was always attached (come on, even hardcoare vidiots would rather take their photo with Jenna Jameson than with Hideo Kojima). Has that been cut loose with all the other goodies normally associated with E3? All said, it seems like the Wii's still reining solid over the PS3. Do the Sony controllers even vibrate yet? I love Sony's PS2 like a family member, but have been utterly unimpressed by the PS3's "suck you dry" price tag, it's lack of decent titles and the non vibrating controllers (which I'm not sure if they got vibrating yet or not). I've got faith Sony'll make things better, but for now, PS3 has "Sega Saturn" written all over it. ? Ep Sato

Is it Mr. Sato? Or may I call you Ep? I think you're confusing conventions: the Adult Entertainement Expo ? the "porn conference" you're talking about ? was part of Consumer Electronic Show (or CES) held every January in Las Vegas. (I've been to a few of them ? CES, I mean. And for the record, I've never gone to the porn show, which takes place in a different location. Seriously.) But props to you for dropping both a Jameson and Kojima reference in the same sentence. (I'd make a Metal Gear Solid joke, but this is supposed to be a family-friendly site.) Also, I hear what you're saying about the PS3, but the system is too good to write off so soon. I'm willing to give Sony another half-year to turn things around.

Hey now, hey now, let's not badmouth the Saturn. In Japan, it was a massive success, and there were several dozen outstanding games for it. Plus, if you waited until after the PS1 came out, you could get it really cheap. ? Robert

You know what I really miss about the Saturn? The little LCD screen in the controllers. Why didn't this ever catch on? It would make perfect sense for sports titles where play selection and pitch location should be hidden from your opponent.

Oh, how I long for Tekken 6 . . . ? Kathleen

Be strong, woman! Only a few more months...

Find out when the new Kingdom Hearts game is coming out. The first 2 were amazing! Also, are there any new fighting or comic book related games coming out for PS3 anytime soon(i.e. Dead or Alive, Mortal Combat) ? Frances

It seems there will be an announcement regarding Kingdom Hearts in a few weeks, at the Tokyo Game Show. Right now, KH creator and director Tetsuya Nomura is busy at work on five ? count 'em, five(!) ? Final Fantasy projects, including Final Fantasy XIII for the PS3 and Dissidia: Final Fantasy for the PSP. As for upcoming fighting games for the PS3, ask Kathleen (above)...

I don't know about you but doesn't it seem like the announcement of Mario Kart for Wii was a bit bigger than Wii Fit. It at least deserves to be mentioned under the Nintendo conference ? Matthew

You're right, I should've mentioned Mario Kart Wii, due early 2008, and set to be packaged with a plastic steering-wheel housing, tentatively called the Wii Wheel. But, really, they made a much bigger deal out of Wii Fit.

The heavens parted. A torrential downpour pounded the Earth's surface without mercy. And then, like a vision, he appeared: the one, the only Ja Rule. All kidding aside, there was something appropriate about the apocalyptic weather that surrounded my encounter with the Queens rapper last night. Ja hasn't released an album in three long years, and many assumed that his career had been effectively terminated by his 2002-2003 dustup with a then-invincible 50 Cent. But anything can change given enough time: 50's most recent singles have been commercial disappointments, and, meanwhile, Ja has crept back onto the radio with his furious new cut "Uh Oh," a collaboration with New Orleans' Lil Wayne. Wayne and the resurgent Ja spent yesterday traveling around New York City, shooting the "Uh Oh" video; I met up with them on the Harlem block where they planned to wrap up the day's filming.

The aforementioned thunderstorm delayed the shoot for a solid three hours, so I sought shelter in Ja's warm, fragrant tour bus, where he was relaxing with longtime associate Irv Gotti and a few other pals. Ja was in high spirits, eager to talk about the "refreshing, brand new" vibe of his latest work. But he was also surprisingly willing to talk about the career setbacks he's faced. His new album, due this September or October, is called The Mirror: "I was actually looking in the mirror and it hit me. I looked at myself and said, 'Yo, Rule, this is your moment of truth.' I gotta let [fans] know what it felt like ? what Ja, the artist, the man, the father, the husband, was going through." And what was his vision for the "Uh Oh" video? "It's going to look like organized confusion." Meaning...? (Note: I'm about 80% sure he didn't mean Organized Konfusion, the acclaimed '90s backpack rap duo, but no promises.) "It's gonna be real intense," Ja explained, "a lot of light and camera tricks. Me and Weezy got a lot of energy when we're in front of that camera."

Leaving the bus, I noticed that the hoodied guy strolling past me was, in fact, Lil Wayne (a.k.a. Weezy F. Baby) himself; a sizable crowd of passersby soon made the same realization and scrambled to whip out their camera phones. It wasn't hard to understand their excitement. Wayne released his solo debut in 1999, the same year as Ja's, so he's hardly a newcomer ? but in the last year he's been on an extraordinary hot streak, releasing an enormous volume of uniformly stunning material. Not for nothing, he is often dubbed today's best rapper alive (by himself, myself, and many others). Turns out he's a pretty dope lip-syncher, too: As soon as the tape started rolling, he began flailing to the beat and acting out his lyrical similes like a player in the world's sickest game of "Charades."

Soon Ja ran out to join him. They made quite the dashing pair in their matching all-black outfits, Wayne's regal dreads next to Ja's smooth dome. Take after frenetic take, they mugged wildly under the floodlights, alone or together, as various portions of "Uh Oh" blasted into the night. In between they swigged liberally from their thirst-quenching beverages of choice ? a styrofoam cup of indeterminate contents for Weezy, a bright-orange flagon of something called "Nutcracker Tropical Fruit Liqueur" for Ja. Gotti presided over the whole scene, hunched near a live monitor and bellowing instructions ("Stay static!" "Do that again!") at his stars. It was well after 10 p.m. by the time I made my exit, and I got the feeling that Ja and Wayne weren't leaving the premises any time soon; hopefully whatever I missed will turn up on YouTube before long.

So, PopWatchers, are you looking forward to seeing "Uh Oh" in action? If you look closely, you might even see the blurred outline of your humble blogger in the corner of the frame! (Probably not, though.) Any other thoughts on Ja Rule's career rebirth?

Not many bands are born with a certain silver utensil in their mouths. But since the release of the breakthrough album Girls Can Tell in 2002, the members of the fittingly named Spoon have had them practically shoved in their faces. Each album since has been greeted with a tidal wave of hyperbolic praise from critics, to the point where Josh Tyrangiel?s Time review of the band?s latest all but screamed "Don?t listen to us, just go buy the record!" Or download it illegally, judging by the crowds at the two New York shows that just kicked off the group's national tour: At both last night?s Rockefeller Park show at the River to River Festival and Tuesday?s in-store performance at the Union Square Virgin Megastore, singer/guitarist Britt Daniel told the crowd that the just-released album "is called Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. How many of you have heard it?" Cue the thunderous applause.

Speaking of thunder, several hundred soggy concert-goers showed up to last night's free gig despite a horrendous storm that rained buckets on Manhattan. It finally slowed to a drizzle and stopped entirely before the band?s slated 7 p.m. start time, leaving the crowd hopeful. Things took a while to dry out; meanwhile, the PA played through an array of feel-good oldies fittingly dominated by songs from the Supremes. There?s a lot of that Motown charm in Spoon, which was particularly evident later in the show when they launched into the Berry Gordy-meets-indie rock "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb" (joined by a horn section!) and again in the staccato keyboards of "Everything Hits at Once," which aren?t so different from those on "Where Did Our Love Go."

The band finally went on at 8:15, and the crowd ? antsy from standing in the mud for an hour or more ? rejoiced. The audience only got larger as the night wore on, growing from a few hundred to filling the field. They opened with "Eddie?s Ragga" and "Don?t Make Me a Target," a pair of new songs anchored by unflinching rhythms and Daniel?s white-hot guitar work. I saw Spoon two years ago, in support of their album Gimme Fiction ? this is not the same band. Even the old songs had changed: the guitar solos became squalls of distortion and Daniel, always a charismatic frontman, took to the mic with unexpected ferocity on older classics like "My Mathematical Mind" and "Jonathan Fisk." The four-piece band played with unrestrained intensity; "Chicago at Night," from Girls Can Tell, was a definite highlight as Eric Harvey did double duty on keyboards and electric guitar. They were joined on a few songs (including Gax5?s Jon Brion-produced single, "The Underdog") by four horn players, who helped keep the sense of exuberance flowing.

It helps that Gax5, critics crying wolf aside, is arguably the band?s best album and definitely its most celebratory. Tracks such as "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb," the strutting "Finer Feelings" and "The Underdog" move with a loose energy that?s hard to capture on record, especially for a band known for its precision. Spoon have never been the most freewheeling group; their brand of spare, rough-edged indie rock has always been a focused, craft-oriented creature. Craft still plays an enormous role in their music ? if anything, Daniel's melodies have only gotten better over the years ? but there was a fire to their performance that was something to behold at this point in the band's career.

In an indie landscape full to bursting with teenage MySpace acts, Spoon are practically elder statesman. It?s all the more impressive, then, that they performed with the enthusiasm of bands half their age ? and in the face of a New York thunderstorm, no less. One can only wonder where they?ll go from here, but here?s to hoping they return soon.

As Lost fans know, J.J. Abrams' production house Bad Robot creates mysterious, pseudo-viral marketing campaigns that are nearly as entertaining as the actual products they sell. So it is with Abrams' hush-hush new movie project, the trailer for which you probably saw before your screening of Transformers last week. The clip (pictured), which showed Blair Witch-style camcorder footage of an apparent monster or alien attack on New York City, ended with a release date (Jan. 18, 2008) but no film title. Now, however, details about the mysterious movie are starting to emerge ? along with some possible false leads.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the film is called Cloverfield, though that could be just a working title or a red herring (um, it takes place in Manhattan, yes? Where's the clover? Where's the field?). Paramount apparently greenlit the modestly-budgeted ($30 million) film back in February when it handed Abrams the keys to the Star Trek franchise. Project was so secret that the actors signed on without being shown the script (written by Lost and Alias scribe Drew Goddard). Helping keep the budget down: they're all virtual unknowns; biggest name in the cast is probably Lizzy Caplan, late of CBS' short-lived 2006-07 sitcom The Class. Filming began last month on location, with Matt Reeves (who co-created Felicity with Abrams) directing.

Here's where the possible disinformation comes in. The trailer began popping up on the Web last week, but Paramount issued cease-and-desist orders to several sites, including ethanhaaswaswrong.com and ethanhaaswasright.com. Now, Abrams, talking to Ain't It Cool News, says those two sites have nothing to do with the film, but take a look at them; they seem awfully suspicious. (Ethan Haas, by the way, was the character played by Caplan's co-star Jason Ritter on The Class.) Abrams says there are other secret websites, but he claims no one's found any of them yet, except for this obvious placeholder.

At any rate, Paramount has put the trailer back online, this time in a high-def version, at Apple. Watch it, tell us what you think (for the record, PopWatch thinks it looks pretty awesome), and let the conspiracy theories begin!

I was watching Coyote Ugly this weekend (What? It was on cable, okay?), and there's that incredibly lame line at the end that's supposed to sum it all up in deepish fashion: "What do you do when you realize all your dreams have come true?"

Well, here in PopWatch land, I guess the answer is "blog about it" ? because Saturday night I was treated to the fusion of two of my favorite things in all the world, and now that I've pieced my mind back together from the shards that scattered all over the floor, I am here to tell you that the Decemberists playing live with the L.A. Philharmonic in front of 14,000 people at the Hollywood Bowl was one of the singularly most transcendent musical experiences of my short, happy existence.

There are a lot of reasons why this show slapped a grin on my face so wide it threatened to block out the sun, and I'll get into those a bit later. For now, let's just cut to the chase: If you've got a chance to see the Portland indie pirates' symphonic tour ? and if you live near Baltimore, Chicago, Atlanta, or Philly, you do ? I strongly suggest you seize that opportunity. It's an experiment that more and more bands are trying, and, aside from feeding this music-lover's soul, it just might save the life of symphonic music as we know it. After the jump, some musings and my review, complete with on-stage perspective from a member of the L.A. Phil's trumpet section. Decemberists, I'm yours...

Obviously, we're all watching, with much bating of breath, to see how the music industry is going to rebound from this whole what-happens-when-people-don't-buy-our-product-anymore? phase. But for a small segment of the population, there's an even more pressing dilemma at hand: What happens when all the people who attend symphony orchestra concerts, you know, die?

Okay, perhaps that's putting it a little bit harshly, but any visit to one of our country's fine concert halls will tell you that there's just not been a real surge of interest from the youth of America, those millions of anticipated kids arriving to take the place of the more elderly symphony subscribers as they slowly but surely move on to the great Messiah singalong in the sky. And the blue-haired clock, God bless it, is ticking.

I may have mentioned this here before, but my parents both play in the Houston Symphony. And while I liked my music a little too loud to pick up the family trade, I still don't want to see the livelihood of my parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and great-grandparents perish. So, as I am constantly telling my mother, the American symphony orchestra has got to find a way to make classical music relevant to the Ritalin generation, and they've got to do it fast. All Clay Aiken concerts aside ? my mom said he was very nice, Claymates, so don't send letters ? there's a real issue when series programmers still think people like Kenny G and Bobby McFerrin are relevant and exciting and should be included in pops programming. Of course, baby steps are taken all the time: The Houston Symphony has a tribute to Led Zeppelin coming up, as well as a night of videogame music. Although to be completely honest, neither of those things sounds like an ideal fit, as I can't imagine "Black Dog" or the theme music from Super Mario are incredibly thrilling for a classically trained musician to play. But at least they're more adventurous than squeezing the Neil Sedaka/Burt Bacharach/Linda Ronstadt stone one more time, hoping for just a little more blood. And maybe they'll bring in some new faces under the age of 55.

Now, don't get me wrong: The popular survival of classical music is very much a two-way street. Kids have to open themselves up to the beauty of a Vivaldi concerto or the power of a Mahler symphony in the same way they accept the Crazy Frog as "music." And artists in the popular vein have to open themselves up to the possibility that while Pro Tools is awesome, technology will never replicate the sound created by a real live 52-piece orchestra. This goes double for the folks producing TV scores, movie soundtracks, and Broadway plays. The way to keep orchestral music relevant is to continue to use it, but let it grow and change with the times at hand.

THEREFORE ? jeez, it took me a while to get here ? I am so thrilled to see more and more popular bands arranging their songs for symphonic accompaniment and making appearances with orchestras in tow. My parents played with Ben Folds earlier this year, part of his tour that mostly remains notable for coinciding with a fistfight in Boston's Symphony Hall; My Morning Jacket will perform with the Chicago Youth Symphony at Lollapalooza later this month, having previously gone orchestral with the Boston Pops (who deserve real credit for their commitment to fostering these sorts of collaborations). Prior to Saturday night's show, the L.A. Phil has played with Belle & Sebastian and Bright Eyes, and while musicians have griped in the past that these concerts leave them with little to do but sit in the background and hold whole notes all night, for the Decemberists concert, they brought in a man named Sean O'Loughlin to beef up the orchestra's participation, including solos and improvisational sections, to make it a truly symphonic event rather than a band with a backing track.

WHICH BRINGS US to Saturday night's show itself, which was absolutely stellar and woooo-provoking, inspiring a response from the fans that Christopher Still, the aforementioned L.A. Phil trumpet player, called "what I imagine it would be like to stand directly in front of a jet engine turbine. Classical music fans," he continued, "are definitely a little more subdued."

I hate to cast aside the opening contributions from Band of Horses and Andrew Bird ? both of whom were terrific, and the perfect accompaniment to sunset and a cool, breezy night ? but outside of Bird's always-present violin, there wasn't much to set either act aside from what one might see at their usual indie-rock venue. The giant stage of the Hollywood Bowl added a certain level of grandeur, of course, as did the thousands of tiered benches rising up the side of the green hill, but ultimately it was the second half of the concert we all came to see. So once the openers cleared away, and a partition was removed to reveal an elevated platform upon which the members of the L.A. Phil, clad in white, took their seats, you could feel a swell of anticipation: Would this, could this, live up to what we all were imagining? Could Colin Meloy's carefully crafted, eloquently worded, sprightly but almost antique songs sustain the weight of a full symphony orchestra playing underneath? The Decemberists are fond of jokingly collapsing under their instruments ? might that collapse happen metaphorically tonight as well?

Not even close. From the opening, nearly inaudible strums of "Crane Wife, Pts 1 & 2," it began: The orchestra chiming in under the line, "I am a poor man/I haven't wealth nor fame" with creamy French horns, rendering the saga of this love story between a man and his feathered bride instantly cinematic. Hard to believe it was the same piece of music I originally heard at Bumbershoot 2006 with just Colin and an acoustic guitar; it now swelled to bursting with seafaring flutes, timpani, and a string section comprised unmistakably of dozens of violinists, violists, cellists, and bassists playing in perfect sync. It was not on a loop. It was not three dudes in a studio enhanced to sound like 12. It was music, the way only professional symphonic musicians can play it, and all around me, smiles burst on the faces of the audience.

We moved on to "The Infanta," and thanks to the bang and thump of the Philharmonic, the elephants and camels of the lyrics came stomping from the stage like an advancing army. "We Both Go Down Together" shook the night under its veranda (boom!), Miranda (boom!). "Odalisque" showed up huge, starting with a lone oboe and ending as The Godfather. The orchestra mimicked birds and ships and mourning maidens; they had handclaps written into their scores, leading the audience in typical rock-show clapalongs turned downright artistic. Even the insulting lyrics of "Los Angeles, I'm Yours" came across as a rallying cry to celebrate, appropriately evoking the Charlie's Angels soundtrack with its soaring Seventies swing. And so it went, for 11 songs, only three of them ("Perfect Crime #2," "O Valencia!", and "Chimbley Sweep") unadorned by orchestral accompaniment. All the while, the Decemberists could not have broadcast any more joy had they cut their chests open and laid their happy hearts on stage for us to view. "If you ever start a rock band, I advise playing here," Colin smiled in awe at one point. Later, he'd break into a Bono-esque sprint around the runway that juts into the Bowl's audience, and ask us all to "indulge him" and hold our cell phones up in the night sky. They looked like stars. Colin (pictured, left, at Bonnaroo last month) compared them to his bedroom ceiling in 6th grade, but I think he was selling it short: Much like the concert itself, that shizz be real. It was gorgeous. My only complaint: I wish it had gone on longer. And: What's a girl gotta do to get a symphony orchestra to scream like they're being eaten by a whale?

There were moments, of course, when I felt like several members of the L.A. Phil were staring in confusion (or dismay) at the crazy kids before them. I know my parents, and I know their general impressions of the rock 'n' roll; I can only imagine what many of those on stage were thinking as they watched drummer John Moen (pictured, right) prance like a ballerina, or Nate Query roll his stand-up bass around on the stage like a toy. Our trumpeting friend Chris Still, for one, says he had a blast ? so let's give him the last word. "This type of collaboration doesn't usually give an orchestra much to sink its teeth into, but this one was an exception," he says. "The high quality of the arrangements and the band made it a fun experience. These types of shows have the benefit of giving rock bands a completely different experience of their music ? a live, more fully realized version of the studio tracks their fans love. And it's nice to expose a different audience to the sound of a full symphonic orchestra.

"But doing too many of these would be like only driving your Ferrari to the corner store. We have an incredibly rich, diverse body of music spanning centuries, and it's our job to keep it alive while helping new composers add to it. Maybe orchestras can do a little bit of everything ? we don't have to choose between Debussy and the Decemberists."

Everything I needed to know about classical music I learned from Bugs Bunny. The economic orchestrations of those classic Warner Bros. cartoons distilled the classical repertoire so brilliantly into bite-sized versions, from Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody" to Rossini's Barber of Seville, that by the time I was exposed to those pieces in the concert hall, they were already fondly familiar to me, having been imprinted on my DNA by countless repeat viewings on Saturday mornings. Best, of course, was "What's Opera, Doc," which condensed the vastness of Wagner down to seven concise minutes, all to accompany a mythic Bugs-and-Elmer epic, lavishly illustrated, featuring an outrageous drag-romance interlude and a tragic-yet-hilarious twist ending.

This 1957 short, often called the greatest cartoon ever made, celebrates its 50th anniversary this week. The Toronto Star pays tribute here with a making-of backstory and a link to the full cartoon itself, posted on YouTube (Please don't sue, Warner Bros.!) and embedded below. Watch, enjoy, and see if you can ever hear Wagner's majestic "Ride of the Valkyries" again without thinking, "Kill da wab-bit, kill da wab-bit..."

EW freelancer Cynthia Joyce concludes her reporting from the weekend's Essence Festival in New Orleans. Read her first dispatch here.

Of the more than 40 urban music megastars who performed in the Superdome over Essence Music Festival weekend ? Robin Thicke, Kelly Rowland, Mary J. Blige, Chris Brown, Ne-Yo, Common, Public Enemy, Angie Stone, the O'Jays and Lionel Richie among them ? only one managed to make the 80,000-seat stadium seem sort of, well, small. Beyoncé and her all female band dumbfounded the entire dome, kicking off a nearly two-hour, tightly choreographed set with "Crazy in Love" before she stepped to the edge of the stage: "New Orleans, y'all look so beautiful ? I'm so proud of this city." She looked like a member of some super-race ? as someone next to me put it, "She's got legs like tree trunks, and I just want to climb up."

Earlier in the evening, Ludacris and his crew were dining at Emeril's exclusive kitchen table, drinking sherry and, inexplicably, "lots of lemonade," according to our bartender. Seated next to us was Torico Jones of Memphis, who had come down from that city specifically to see Beyoncé, but also to see the post-Katrina version of a city he'd visited his whole life. "I thought it was gonna be a lot of tears, but it's great to be back," he said in a drawling accent that made Terrence Howard's in Hustle & Flow seem subtle. "They say [Memphis'] Beale Street is the new Bourbon Street ? it's not even close."

Seeing the equally impressive Mary J. Blige (pictured) the next night was a study in contrasts. Her performance's strength drew from the fact that it was on a far more human scale ? smaller band, no costume changes ? and from a prowess that was most evident when she was rapping. "I'm so proud of you," she told the audience, and evidently, the feeling was mutual.

The Superlounge lineup on Saturday made for some tough choices ? Chuck D and Public Enemy? Angie Stone? Lyfe Jennings? In the end we headed for the crowded Coca-Cola lounge for some fried chicken and freestyling by Common, who killed.

Some other performances that brought people up out of their seats:

? Lionel Richie ? looking very quiet-stormish in a silk shirt and velvet pants ? singing the Commodores' smash "Brick House."

? A pregnant Sunshine Anderson, singing music from her forthcoming soul album, Sunshine at Midnight ? her first in six years ? later called her first-ever Essence appearance the performance of a lifetime. "I don't know if it's the baby or what," the soul singer told reporters afterward. "I have never been in touch with my audience like I was tonight."

? Ne-Yo, the hitmaker behind Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable," eagerly dropped the names of all the superstars he's slated to work with, after his own mainstage set: Whitney, Mary J., Janet and Michael, Celine ? (I think Ne-Yo means "without humility" in Chinese.)

? Dressed in a "Black Girls Rock" t-shirt, DJ Beverly Bond ? who recently played at the Wu-Tang Clan reunion "for a 95 percent white audience" ? turned heads and tables at Saturday's Hip-Hop seminar when she asked the mostly black audience, "Why do white people know more about our music from 1992 than we do?"

? MC Lyte ? you remember, she "rocks the party like nobody" ? showed her pioneering freestyle skills were still intact, and the crowd recited many of her rhymes from distant memory. (You're still a pioneer even if few followed in your tracks, right?)

? In their longstanding Essence tradition, Frankie Beverly and Maze closed the event by leading tens of thousands of fans in the Electric Slide. And in a city where "back to normal" is no longer an option, that may well have been as close as it's going to get.

I'm loving John from Cincinnati.Ken Tucker and I might be alone on this one. Many on our staff don't approve.

I wonder if I'm drawn to it because of my Cali roots and the constant reminders it provides me of surf, sand and the word "dude." Or could it be that it's just a damn well written show with some great characters. My favorite character is family friend to the Yosts, Bill Jacks, played by the erstwhile Al Bundy, Ed O'Neill, who Michael Slezak previously claimed "overacts".  Psh-ya!  How can one not overact a neurotic character who converses with his pet birds and suffers from what I presume must be OCD. His performance is right on, I say! Care to rebut, Slezak?

Last night's episode was pretty wacky, I'll admit. Turns out Cissy Yost, who ran off her husband, is a totally insane-trigger-happy-crazy-lady, and Shaun's mom, Tina Blake, is now a famous porn star. And, what? The little surfer boy Shaunie smokes weed! Who knew? Someone should inform that boy smoking out of an aluminum can causes Alzheimer's!

(By the way, PopWatchers, did you know the show is loosely based on the real life surfer-family, the Fletchers? So there is a good reason they selected that really bad actor to play Shaun Yost. According to Slate, real-life surfer Greyson Fletcher (pictured), the third generation of surfers in his family, is actually playing himself. The boy's got undeniable skills on the water. But maybe he should take a few acting lessons along with fellow surfer-turned-actor Keala Kennelly. Just an idea.)

Even with all the wackiness, last night's show still provided me with some quality couch potato time.  For the first time in the series, I was actually moved by Kai's character. Normally, Keala Kennelly, who plays Kai, drives me B-A-N-A-N-A-S with her bad acting, but last night, I really appreciated her understated performance. She didn't have a whole lot of lines, but her body language spoke tenfold when reacting to Butchie's ex, Tina, coming back into town. And the way she calmly handled Cissy's breakdown by taking the gun away and opening the door to let Butchie and Tina see Shaun as he slept was honorable and really allowed me to feel for her character. At the end of the ep, I actually feared Kai was thinking of offing herself with Cissy's gun. Presumably, that was exactly what David Milch wanted us to feel and think.

Meanwhile, away from the Yosts' baby's mama drama, John was spending time with Cass, Link's ex-employee. I have no idea what's really going on there, but I'm sure we will find out much more on the next episode. And that's what makes a show good, right? The constant curiosity. The mystery. The unknowing. In my eyes, that's what sets JFC apart from all the other shows on the tele these days. I anticipate the next episode.

Do you guys agree or are Ken Tucker and I still completely alone on this?

P.S. The music ? Muse, TV on the Radio, etc. ? is great on this show! Thanks for pointing that out in the comment board of Slezak's post.