CRAZY FROM THE HEAT: It's been a relatively mild summer round these parts, so it's a good time for The Onion AV Club's list of 13 Films Set During Heat Waves.

WHEN THE DAY IS LONG, TAKE ME AWAY TO BETTER DAYS: Look, I'm all for variety on the radio, but perhaps transitioning straight from "Everybody Hurts" (and, man, does that video hold up) into "Pocketful of Sunshine," as my radio did this morning, is a bit much.

The death of yearbooks | Valete | Economist.com

TO THE TABLES DOWN AT MOREY'S (WHEREVER THAT MAY BE): According to The Economist, college yearbooks are dying in the age of Facebook. I certainly can't remember the last time I looked at mine.

Ratings Gap Widens Between ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ and NBC’s ‘Today’ - NYTimes.com

PAGING MR. GUMBEL? In Bill Carter's article today on the "Today" show's continuing ratings dominance (655 weeks), the following claim is made:

“Today” has capitalized on the depth and popularity of its cast, especially [Matt] Lauer. How strong is Mr. Lauer? A production executive from a competing morning program had no reservations. “Matt is simply the best morning anchor in history,” said the executive, who asked not to be identified when praising the opposition. “He is perfect at the job. It makes me crazy.”

Better than David Hartman and Jane Robelot, sure. But in the history of morning tv, better than Charlie Gibson, Jane Pauley, or, um, Katie Couric, who herself seemed perfect for the role?

CHERRY CHAPSTICK? In today's Philadelphia Inquirer, Dan DeLuca reviews the contenders for the most memorable song of the summer of 2008. As you may recall, we did something similar last summer (I think in the end, you'd have to give last summer's award to Rihanna for "Umbrella").

Frankly, I think July 6th is way to early too debate this subject (last year we discussed this in early August). If forced to vote today, I'd have to pick Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl," which tops the Billboard Hot 100 at the moment. Note that I'm not saying that it's necessarily my favorite song this summer. but I seem to hear it semi-constantly and it will remind me of this summer in the future.

Among the songs DeLuca lists, I like:

• "Mercy" by Duffy (you know I'm a sucker for soul music, right?),
• "Oxford Comma" by Vampire Weekend (although I think I prefer their first hit "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," which must have won the award for the song of the spring of 2008),
• "Lollipop" by Lil Wayne featuring Static Major,
• "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here" by She & Him, and
• "Always a Friend" by Alejandro Escovedo (whom I plan to see in concert later this week).

What about you guys? What is the most memorable song of the summer of 2008 so far?

"MAYBE I HAVE TO STEP IT UP A BIT": There are plenty of folks who we call ALOTT5MA Faves (plus a certain poultry-centric fast food chain closed on Sundays), but precious few who get the "Longtime ALOTT5MA Fave" appellation.

The Phillies' Pat Burrell is one of them, largely due to interviews he gave Philadelphia Weekly and Penthouse in 2002-03 (text NSFW). So I will implore you to use this handy widget and cast your vote today for Pat to join the National League All-Star Team -- #4 in the NL with a .995 OPS, .278/.411/.585 with 21 HR. He deserves your Final Vote, cast as frequently as the MLB will allow:


In other All Star news, something I've long called for is that the Commissioner -- yes, even Selig -- should have the right to name a player to each squad who may not necessarily deserve the honor for this year, but who ought to be honored by Baseball Nation as a whole in this marquee event during the twilight of his career. Regardless of how they're doing this season, Ken Griffey Jr. and Frank Thomas ought to be playing in Yankee Stadium next week. Who's with me?

NADAL VICTORIOUS: Today's men's Wimbledon final was the most amazing tennis match I have ever seen (note that I don't watch tennis regularly). Read about it here. The tiebreaker in the 4th set, in which Nadal was up 5-2 yet lost that set was gripping.