BLOOD ON THE RUNWAY:  I've missed at least the past five cycles, but, really, can you have an America's Next Top Model after firing noted fashion photographer Nigel Barker and runway diva coach extraordinaire Miss J. Alexander? (Okay, no one's going to miss Jay Manuel, also axed.)

YOU REALLY BLEW THE LID OFF OF "NOOKIE": The Venn diagram showing the overlap between Jason Segel fans and Broadcast News fans likely approaches a single, unified circle, so enjoy this NPR interview in which the former discusses how the latter reflects his preferred approach to rom-coms.

BARBARIANS AT THE GATES: Don't have much time today, so I'll just say "leave it to the Lannisters to behave in a way that makes it look like Tywin is in the good half of the family." MIA: Theon/Balon/Yara, Bran, Cersei, Jon & the Rangers. Episodes since Rickon Stark sighting: 3?

IN ROUND ONE, THE CONTESTANTS BUILD A FENCE TO HERD STRAYING CATTLE:  If transaction costs are zero, why would it take so long for this now-viral footage from the UK's prisoner's dilemma-based game show Golden Balls to make it to the States, given that the show went off the air three years ago?  Still, sign up Jeff Probst or Penn Jillette to host, and let's get this on a network by September.

DISPLACED PERSONS:  I don't have much to say yet about last men's Mad Men other than that I will pay good money for a Bert Cooper five-dollar bill, and that whatever hesitation I had after the first three hours of the season is gone: this is the show we know and love, and Matthew Weiner knows what he's doing with this season.

WHY CAN'T THEY JUST LET ME LIVE?  Exactly three years ago today, we bemoaned beloved r&b singer-slash-folklorist Anoop Desai's ouster from American Idol, and we couldn't help but wonder:

Predict Desai's ultimate level of success -- or answer this question: three years from now, Anoop Desai will be ....

And as much as we appreciated such answers as "wildly popular teacher of 11th Grade English and American Studies and Choir at Phillips Exeter" (Daniel) and "an associate at Cravath" (Ella) as well as various a capella destinations, the correct answer seems to be closer to Bob's ("about 1,000,000 miles from the pop success that Ne-Yo has enjoyed") or Watchman's ("Who?").  Anoop is still plugging away, and has not given up on making a career in the industry.

It doesn't look like any of the non-finalists have made much of a career from that season -- not Hokey Gokey (a/k/a Robert Downey Jr Jr), neither Allison Iraheta nor Matt Giraud nor Megan Joy (caw! caw!), and Lil Rounds remains on the outside of the industry, looking in.  Man, that was a great season.

WHO NEEDS A COMPUTER ANYWAY?  Oh, God bless the Internet: the complete 1989 Matt Groening-illustrated Student's Guide To Buying A Macintosh, which will evoke strong memories for readers of a certain age.