INSTASTALGIA: Thanks to a genorous donor at the Truro Swap Shop, I now have a chance of Entertainment Weeklies (Entertainments Weekly?) from 1997 and 1998 to peruse. The November 27, 1998 issue is pegged to the release of Stepmom and has Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon on the cover, promising a list of "Hollywood's 25 Greatest Actresses" inside. Who were the other 23? Let's break it down:

• Still Stars: Jodie Foster, Meryl Streep
• Solidly Working, But No Longer Stars Like They Once Were: Emma Thompson, Angela Bassett, Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, Glenn Close, Holly Hunter, Michelle Pfeiffer
• Solidly Working Character Actresses: Helena Bonham Carter, Kathy Bates, Joan Allen, Joan Cusack, Frances McDormand, Alfre Woodard
• Of A Certain Age: Gena Rowlands, Vanessa Redgrave
• Where Have They Gone? Jessica Lange, Sigourney Weaver, Lili Taylor, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Laura Dern
• Showing Your Cootie Is Not Acting: Sharon Stone

There's also a "Who's Next?" list that did pretty well for 1998: Cate Blanchett, Ashley Judd, Catherine Keener, Laura Linney, Thandie Newtown, Mary-Louise Parker, Christina Ricci and Jada Pinkett Smith, but see Janeane Garofalo, Anne Heche, and what-ever-happened-to Emily Watson?

Also in this issue: actress Jeri ("7 of 9") Ryan announces her divorce from Chicago-based investment banker Jack Ryan, surely the last time that marriage will make the news...

:: rogerebert.com :: People :: Joel Siegel: In Memory (xhtml)

R.I.P. JOEL SIEGEL: The genial film GMA critic passed away from colon cancer yesterday at the young age of 63. Roger Ebert remembers his friend today, and Matt Zoller Seitz dug up this 1988 clip of his review of the Broadway musical "Carrie" which will make you smile.

COREY KEMP WAS UNAVAILABLE: I don't know whether I'm amused or horrified by these pictures of Philadelphia Mayor John Street camped out all day in his rain suit for a new iPhone. You'd think that being the (lame-duck) mayor of a city of 1.4 million carried with it a little more juice, either (a) the ability to have one provided to him by the company, or (b) at least a lackey to wait in line on his behalf...

edited, 12:10pm: A lackey has been found, says the Inq: "The mayor has left the sidewalk. After sitting and standing in line since 3:30 a.m. waiting for the Apple iPhone to go on sale - at 6 p.m. at an AT&T store - Mayor Street deferred to critics who lambasted him for wasting city time. Before he left at 11:30 this morning - he was third in line of about 15 people waiting - he defended himself and declared: I'm taking care of my business. By 4 a.m., I sent my first e-mail to my chief of staff. I was doing my job while the city was sleeping. I have my Blackberry with me."

FOR THOSE OF YOU SCORING AT HOME, THAT'S AN E-NIGEL: Seriously, has Nigel never watched that other TV show that he produces? How can two judges rail on a dancer to a degree surpassed only by some of the Sanjaya rants of earlier this year on AI and then be shocked when that dancer's fans do nothing but sit there hitting redial for two hours? Based on their total body of work, I would have sent home a different guy from the bottom three, but I am comfortable (although sad) that tonight's solos, viewed in isolation, gave rise to the correct result.

As for the ladies: well, the silence was deafening, was it not? Without giving anything away about the followup to Wednesday's big dramatic twist, I will simply note that I would have sent home the dancer who took 20 of her 30 seconds to walk on stage and remove her jacket.

I have a lot more to say, but will do so in the comments.

LIGHTNING MCQUEEN(tm) SALMON CORONETS: When Pixar does research for a movie, they really, really don't screw around.

YOU WERE DANCING WITH BETTE MIDLER! What is it with the awesome bird routines? Last week, I decided I was over Wade Robeson and his dead people dances. But after last night's SYTYCD, I want to have a celebrity bird danceoff between Robeson and Tyce Diorio. So many great moments in Hok and Jaimie's dance, from the flower struggling to open under the weight of the morning dewdrops straight on through until the end. Loved it loved it loved it. I couldn't imagine what Pasha and Jessi had in store for us that warranted getting the pimp slot over that hummingbird dance -- until I saw what Pasha and Jessi had in store for us that warranted getting the pimp slot over that hummingbird dance. As for Pasha, let me just note how unbelievably lucky he is that Jessi pulled a Latin dance from the sorting hat. I can't imagine how he would have pulled off what he pulled off in the face of, say, a krumping routine.

And now, in honor of special guest judge Debbie Allen and her fake lashes and hair, I have some percussive thoughts on the rest of the show.

• Can we please, please send Cedric home already? If the best Mia Michaels can do for him is to let him sit in a corner crying for 20 seconds of a 90 second dance, then it should be clear to all parties involved that Cedric's time has come and gone. Let him enroll in the Debbie Allen Dance Academy for young . . . men. (Which was one of the best moments of the entire show -- can Debbie Allen go for two whole hours without using the words "black" or "of color"?)
• It's interesting, is it not, that Jesús (ok, I finally added the accent) outkrumped Sara?
• I have finally come around on Mary Murphy. I love how she whips out the ballroom expertise in between bouts of screaming. I mean, "Kameron, you were a little tight in the right shoulder"? "Tango is danced down into the floor"? She's really upped her game this season.
• Things I Don't Get, Part I: Lauren. I think she comes across as amateurish and juvenile every time she dances, and it doesn't help when she opens her mouth. I can't think of a single girl left on the show who isn't more deserving than Lauren of continuing in this competition.
• Things I Don't Get, Part II: The rumba. It's always been one of my least favorite dances on Dancing with the Stars, and I thought I'd enjoy it more on SYTYCD. But no. I do love little John Leguizamo guy, though -- although I think Dominic's getting a little overpraised compared to, say, Hok, who's equally untrained and equally (if not more) talented.
• Things I Don't Get, Part III: Dan Karaty's routine for Anya and Danny. Did anyone else find it underwhelming? I was surprised by all the adulation.
• Things I Don't Get, Part IV: Why is Nick Lazzarini nowhere in the opening credits?

BELIEVE THE HYPE: The WSJ's tech guru Walter Mossberg has spent two weeks with his iPhone, and he is pleased:

We have been testing the iPhone for two weeks, in multiple usage scenarios, in cities across the country. Our verdict is that, despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer. Its software, especially, sets a new bar for the smart-phone industry, and its clever finger-touch interface, which dispenses with a stylus and most buttons, works well, though it sometimes adds steps to common functions.

The Apple phone combines intelligent voice calling, and a full-blown iPod, with a beautiful new interface for music and video playback. It offers the best Web browser we have seen on a smart phone, and robust email software.

He concludes: "Expectations for the iPhone have been so high that it can't possibly meet them all. It isn't for the average person who just wants a cheap, small phone for calling and texting. But, despite its network limitations, the iPhone is a whole new experience and a pleasure to use."