RUN AND GUN: The Mike Nichols-directed production of The Country Girl, starring Morgan Freeman, Frances McDormand, and Peter Gallagher gets a rather acerbic pan from Ben Brantley today, but more interesting than that is that the Times has decided that the top cultural event of today, worthy of the space normally reserved for theatrical, filmic, or literary blockbusters, is Grand Theft Auto IV, which the Times raves about, calling it "violent, intelligent, profane, endearing, obnoxious, sly, richly textured and thoroughly compelling." That review just solidified my intent to go out and buy this one.

(Also, the Times asks whether Vanity Fair will destroy Miley Cyrus' career. Given what other starlets are doing, I think not.)

MELISSOPHOBES NOT WELCOME: All of us at ALOTT5MA Headquarters are thrilled that we're now within one month of the 81st Scripps National Spelling Bee (May 28-29 29-30), and our sixth consecutive year of liveblogging the competition.

The field of 288 spellers is set, including four-timer Anqi Dong and the other twenty-one regional Canadian entrants who just competed in the CanWest Canspell National Bee. Over the coming weeks, we'll be scouting our neighbors to the north, the seventeen 3-year-plus repeaters (including two members of the Five Timers Club), as well as new entrants like Mallika Govindan of Lancaster, MA, who's preparing for the Bee by studying all about German, Italian and French foods, as well as watching America's Next Top Model. That's our kind of competitor.

I am happy to announce that Shonda will be back to guest-blog, as will our former Bee finalist guest-bloggers Heather and Rafael. But I didn't seek them out -- they each came here because they loved talking about the Bee and had something they wanted to share. So if you're a Bee veteran, Bee parent, tv writer/executive producer/creator or anyone else with insight to share, we want you to join us -- email me at the address provided if you've got something you want to say at length, or just start posting in the comments. And Samir, if you're out there ...

"WHO CAN SATISFY THEIR LUSTFUL HABITS? I'M NOT A RABBIT! I NEED SOME REST": And now, six years after his Kentucky Derby and Preakness wins, War Emblem is no longer interested in earning stud fees for his owners, so to speak. Left unaddressed in the article? Rumors that he's gay.

[Of course, the last time the Times danced around an issue like that, it was the Prince Albert situation, and we know how that resolved itself.]

SO VERY SPECIAL: When in Rome, of course, so what did Prince do at the alternarock Coachella Festival this weekend? Cover Radiohead's "Creep". EW's Chris Willman raves:

One complaint I have at festivals is how little evidence there is among some of the performers that they know they’re at a festival; the bigger the headliner, the more they’re apt to just plow through their usual touring show, without any concessions for the uniqueness of the night. But Prince took advantage of the fact that he was at a “rock festival” to show off his rock & roll guitar prowess at the kind of length I’ve never seen him do before, at least outside of an all-instrumental club set. ... If the guy had done nothing in his life but aspire to be the lead guitarist in a band, he’d be a Hall of Famer, but there are so many other aspects to his genius that that’s not always the one he favors. But on Saturday night, he didn’t bogart the Stratocaster, interrupting nearly every song -- except for the most truncated or medley-ized ones -- for an impressive workout, even showing off a couple of times by soloing just with his left hand on the neck while he waved the right around in the air freely, mock-conducting his own virtuosity.

One more video already up on the YouTube: "Seven"/"Come Together".

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ALOTT5MA TECH SUPPORT: Commenter PJ wants to know:

I have a question I was wondering if you'd be able to present to the thing throwers; I recently had a computer crash. The hard drive that decided to crap out was the 2ndary drive where I store all my iTunes music. I did back the drive up so there is a copy of everything. Here's what I'm hoping someone will be able to help me with;

My iTunes is still linked to the previous drive for my music - (ie. it's looking for Drive fgh/itunes/mrblotto/liveaug07/kissmeinthemorning and the file doesn't exist under that name any more). How can I, without reloading everything, redirect my iTunes to read from the new drive, where all my music has been copied.

Any thoughts/suggestions from the contributors of the blog would be a great help.

LEE ADAMA, LIKE DUKE CUNNINGHAM, BUT WITHOUT THE PRICE LIST: If one of these fellows had told Fighter Command, in the Summer of 1940, that they were looking for a new position in the government, I suppose the most likely opening would have been as a four-by-four at the business end of a firing squad lane.

And yet, instead of waiting on the deck to blast Cylons, Lee Adama is speaking truth to power with all the sincerity and import of CSU Northridge's Portugal delegation to the regional Model UN competition.

Never you mind that lame subplot, an interesting episode on the meaning of loss, a growing religious schism, and Col Tigh's new addiction.

A-OOOOH! You wouldn't think that Kid Rock taking the hooks from "Werewolves of London" and "Sweet Home Alabama," tossing them vigorously, and adding some rap would work. But somehow it does.