The Best Thing About July 4th...

Is that it marks the return of that summer classic Big Brother! And after 6 years CBS is giving us an All-Star season.

If you think about it, it's really quite amazing that the series has stood it's ground, especially after the god almighty awful Year 1 that pitted the embarrassing "Chicken" George against... Hum? (yes, no one remembers that year), and Year 2, which introduced the evil Dr. Will, but was then marred by the tragedy of September 11th.

Julie Chen is again our hostess with the mostest. Remember the days when critics scorned her for deviating from her hard-news roots to host a "light entertainment" program. Katie Couric did stints in Will & Grace and Austin Powers, and now she's CBS' nightly anchor - OK, so maybe that's not the best comparison. At least Julie's choice in outfits has vastly improved over the years (we still like to snigger occasionally however).

With this being the All-Stars, the first question of the evening was how the hell did Erika get America's choice vote over Dana? Or even Ivette for that matter? And then for the producers to pick George... Well, that was just plain disgusting! But let's think back to our original choices, why no:

Toothbrush-dunking Shannon, or super-hot hunky Hardy - you should really click on thru here (from Year 2)
Lush Amy, fireman Eric or devilish Roddy (from Year 3)
Alison's little ex Justin or the one cool gay Will (from Year 4)

Maybe they just didn't want to denigrate themselves again for another summer. Or maybe they just have fulfilled and happy lives out of the reality show spotlight.

And it looks like Danielle will soon be joining them back on the sidelines! Why must some people play too damn hard from the get go? If she's such a great player, why couldn't she see that she was just getting herself in deeper and deeper?

With the Blonde Bombshell duo of Jase and Janey in the HOH driving seats, aliances already forming (and fraying), and Dr. Will seething at not being nominated, Year 7 has started off with aplomb!

July 4th 2006: The Pursuit of the Perfect Tan!

Another Fourth of July, another year without citizenship, and yet I still celebrate the day you claimed your independence from my people (all the while driving around in my Union Jack topped Mini, avoiding the couple of dirty looks I did get).

For the life of me I can't remember what I did last year, but this year was spent pursuing that perfect tan! But after two days out on the beautiful sandy beaches of Venice, Joe gets burnt, while I've barely any colour at all (according to Ed at work). Great!

My quest began a few weeks ago at the gym. This guy working out next to us had the most spell binding colour (I couldn't stop staring). So even. So complete (even his pits). So spectacular that we had to wonder if it were in fact Mystic! But in truth, he is not alone. Many an Angelino has that same, truly perfect tan! And I want to be counted amoungst those proud tanned souls! Plus, it does help to clear up my skin!

But what is a "hard-tanner" to do? I only used SPF 15. I turned accordingly. I lay in the appropriate direction. And after many hours in the sun, I'm still as pink as a lab rat!

Will I have to make that treacherous 1/2 hour journey west every weekend? Spending hour upon hour reading trashy novels while laying on the sands? Peering at the hard-bodies running along the water's edge? Having to deal with free-parking (thanks Cary) and homeward-bound trips to Target or Toy "R" Us?

Yes, I could well be in for a rough summer!