THE NEXT STEP IS TO GET IT INTO THE SPELLING BEE: The NYT talks to Shonda Rhimes and others about the derivation and increased popularity of the term "vajayjay".

I GOT A LITTLE STUPID: Dan In Real Life is not a perfect film by any means--indeed, I think I'd prefer it if one subplot (the Emily Blunt one) had been left on the cutting room floor and we'd spent a little more time with the family members who didn't get as much screen time. That said, it's far more charming than any movie in which Dane Cook appears has a right to be, and I both laughed and got a little misty during the course of the film. Carell delivers a very nice performance, proving that he can do more than stupid comedy, and Cook is relatively inoffensive. The most surprising and pleasant part of the film, though, is a song score by Sondre Lerche, whose songs comment on the action (kind of like how Wes Anderson uses the Bowie songs in Life Aquatic), who I wasn't familiar with, and which is quite enjoyable. A content warning, however, for wary viewers--not only does Dane Cook appear in the film, but Dane Cook sings in the film, and (along with co-star Norbert Leo Butz) has a songwriting credit. Worth your while.

Also, attached to the film was the trailer for Love In The Time Of Cholera, which seems like painfully bad Oscar baiting effort, and which provoked substantial and audible laughter in the theatre when the "Original Songs By Shakira" title card popped up.

NEW YORK, THE OUTSIDE WORLD. OUTSIDE WORLD, NEW YORK: I know that New Yorkers aren't really like this and that the New York Times is making this up. Right?

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: When I decided that it was time for my inaugural reality-tv-related live event -- at the Nassau Coliseum, no less! -- I thought that I was going to be embarrassingly old relative to the universe of people who would choose to attend the So You Think You Can Dance tour. To my mild amazement, I wasn't. In fact, I actually felt pretty young compared to many of the people sitting around us. So apparently SYTYCD's fan base skews older than I'd realized. Who knew?

I have to say that I was surprised by the production values of the thing -- from impeccably timed prerecorded Cat Deeley voiceovers ("Welcome . . . to so you THINK you can DANCE!") to well-written and shockingly well-delivered patter from the dancers themselves that, like, made Jaimie, like, giggle, sound articulate, while Dominic was given a number of self-deprecating comedic sketches. The producers did a really impressive job of recreating the "our show in your living room" communal spirit that is, to me, one of the most appealing aspects of the TV show.

And there was dancing, too -- tons of it! Solos (actual choreographed ones, from what I could tell) from all of the top ten dancers plus at least 25 group or partnered routines. All of the greatest hits were represented, from Sabra and Neil's "Sweet Dreams (are Made of This)" workplace dance to the oft-touted-by-me hummingbird and flower dance (Hok! Hok! Hok!) to the Danny/Anya foxtrot to the Mia's dad dance to the hobos cabaret to the Benjy-choreographed west coast swing to the Dmitri-choreographed samba to the Lauren and Pasha we-are-the-machine dance and so on. If you can think of a dance you particularly liked during the season, it was danced on the tour. Sabra got very little in the way of special attention -- she got to dance the last solo, and was alluded to as the winner a few times, but that was it. And even though the teenybopper contingent was less dominant than I'd anticipated, they were loud Loud LOUD when it came to screeching for Danny and Neil whenever they set foot on stage.

If there was one glaringly odd choice, it was Kameron and Shauna dancing the Shauna/Jimmy "Ease on Down the Road" number from maybe week two of the finals. Shauna was apparently brought on the tour as some sort of alternate/understudy (along with Anya, Hok, and Jesús), so her appearance wasn't terribly weird, but plopping Kameron into the Jimmy role for what was never a memorable dance to begin with just underscored the degree to which Kameron made it as far as he did in the competition solely by virtue of being the prop around which Lacey danced. In a two-hour show chock full of great moments, the fact that Kameron didn't have any great moments of his own was pretty obvious.

So now, having been to my first SYTYCD tour, I think it's pretty safe to say that Mr. Cosmo and I plan to attend next year's festivities! Go Room 19!

IN ALL OTHER WEEKS, I DO NOT BLOG ABOUT T-SHIRTS EVEN ONCE. THIS WEEK, WHY DO I DO IT TWO TIMES? Because I ought to let people know that TWoP's limited edition Robin Sparkles Mall Tour 1993 t-shirts are only on sale through 10/31.

I IMAGINED THAT TRACY PROBABLY WENT TO A BAR MITZVAH AND THOUGHT, "WHY ARE THERE NO BAR MITZVAH SONGS PLAYING AT THIS PARTY?": It will take you longer to read this NYT piece on 30 Rock's "Werewolf Bar Mitzvah" than the actual six-second sketch took.

Finally seizing upon a viral opportunity, NBC has released the full audio of the song and is encouraging fans to create their own music video versions.

GREETINGS, GOSSIP GIRL FANS: Yes, we should talk about the hit show a bit more, because I'm not the only one here watching. Can I tell any of the guys apart other than Dan Humphrey and his five-years-older-than-him Dad? Not really. Read this interview with writer/producer Stephanie Savage about pulling off the adaptation, or New York magazine's coverage, and then we can decide whether we're ever going to have a week without a party (did love the Eyes Wide Shut tribute), or whether New York is right in claiming "The generation of tweens watching Gossip Girl, take note: Dan is your Jake Ryan, and believing that guys like this exist can ruin your life," or whether, as Lesley Blume puts it:

Gossip Girl seems to tell us that there's nothing to look forward to, and there will be nothing to look back upon ... except more of the same. We're not just destined to become brittle materialistic adults; we already are brittle materialistic adults by the time we hit puberty. We have no choice. We're wired for misery. If we have money, we're destined to be miserable with it. If we don't have it, we're destined to be miserable without it, and spend our lives with our noses pressed up against the glass.

And this demoralizing little message is the real meanness of the series.

Gossip Girl represents nothing less than the soft death of youth culture and rebellion and self-determinism.

We have many van der Woodsens to discuss, gang.