So I watched the Country Music Awards, which I taped so I could skip the boring parts. Unlike other award shows I've seen, there seem to be only a score or so of awards, which leaves a lot of time for the entertainment. I got to see Faith Hill perform a new song; Shania Twain, Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride also sang some nice songs. Even Chely Wright sang an abbreviated version of "Single White Female". The Dixie Chicks won the most awards (3) and Shania Twain won Entertainer of the Year. Song of the Year is interesting in that it's awarded to the writer(s) of the song, which is nice. I actually watched most of it.

I also watched The West Wing, which was quite good. The most memorable scene was when the President (Martin Sheen) made his entrance. He had a stirring speech and lambasted the bad guys, nicely done. It looks like a show worth watching, although it conflicts with Star Trek: Voyager. Voyager was also a good season opener. Lots of action, Janeway cracks. It was a bit hurried though, the plot jumping a bit. But for once, Voyager gains some crewmembers (although they probably lost more then they gained during the adventure).

After a day of work I'm kind of brain dead. I should be doing more things but I have a hard time getting motivated. I try to read or play a game or surf the net while I'm watching tv, sort of paying attention to two things at once. That way I can get more stuff done, but last night I was just dead and could only watch television and did nothing else. Quite bad since that means some stuff starts to pile up.

So eventually it gets to 01:35 and this week I've been watching Later. The guest host for the whole week has been Bonnie McFarlane, who is a stand-up comic in Los Angeles. Now, maybe it's late and I'm really tired, but I think she's quite cute. She was interviewing Anthony Clark and I swear she was flirting like crazy. Which is all the more endearing. But what do I know? It's not as if I've ever talked to any women...

I also like it when Cindy Crawford hosted for a few weeks. She wasn't all that good at first, but she slowly got a little better. The best host was Bob Costas, who's a really good, knowledgeable interviewer. The guy knows his stuff, and knows how to get his interviewee talking. An interview show like this, where the host and guest just talk for 20+ minutes depends on having good chemistry. Sometimes I watch Later and the host/guest combination is just not working.

After watching the occassional episode of the Late Late Show, I've come to the conclusion that Craig Kilborn is trying too hard. He's actually a good interviewer, better than Conan O'Brien in my opinion. But the opening monologue and some his jokes and routines are truly awful. Stuff like staring at the camera while weird music plays until people start laughing. Conan also has some bad schticks, but for the most part his routines are funny.