I'm a fan of the Daily Show (who isn't, really?), so the news that a crew from the show will be here is cool, but I can't imagine the whole Baja Arizona movement is going to come off as sane or productive when the producers are through with it:

Paul Eckerstrom, co-chair of Start Our State, i.e., the Baja Arizona as the 51st state movement, was the guest speaker at a meeting of the Saguaro Eastside Democrats on Monday night. Eckerstrom announced that The Daily Show would be in Tucson Wednesday and Thursday of this week to film an episode on Baja Arizona for The Daily Show.

Eckerstrom did not disclose whom the correspondents are from The Daily Show coming to Baja Arizona.

Arizona has been a target rich comedy environment for The Daily Show because of our lunatic fringe Tea-Publican legislature and governor. The Daily Show has even created an "Arizona" tag for all of its video episodes mentioning Arizona.

So let's be on our best behavior people. Let's be clear that "the crazy" comes from our bullying neighbor to the north, the state of Maricopa. It is the Tea-Publicans who voted for the long discredited pre-Civil War theories of nullification of federal laws and secession from the United States.

Baja Arizona wanted no part of this. Baja Arizonans are loyal Americans. Baja Arizona is following the example of West Virginia in the Civil War and is exercising its constitutional prerogative under Article IV, Section 3 of the United States Constitution for the legal process of partition and separation from the state of Arizona:

"New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new States shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress" (emphasis added).

The non-binding resolution that Start Our State wants to put on the ballot in 2012 is simply a petition to the Arizona legislature and the Congress for consent to establish our own state. it is our way of saying that we have had enough of "the crazy" from our bullying neighbor to the north, the state of Maricopa.

[Blog for Arizona]

The Paul Reiser Show didn't make it long - not really a surprise, since it was a bad photocopy of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and, well, not funny at all. Now, the show joins the ranks of one of the shortest series runs in television history. Not quite as quickly yanked off the air as 1969's Turn-On, but close.

While the show isn't apparently high-minded enough to make Jordan Green's Idiot Boksen column, every week that there's a new episode of Parks & Recreation lately, it seems to just reinforce my belief that the show is the best comedy on television right now. If for no other reason than to see Aziz Ansari's Tom Haverford discuss his list of food-related nicknames, take 22 minutes off from work and watch the most recent episode:

When I was in 7th grade, I finished The Wishsong of Shannara, the third and final part of Terry Brooks' Shannara series. It was my first real trek into the fantasy genre, and I'd loved every moment of it. I loved swords and magic and elven archers. I loved the maps. Then, I gave it up.

Thanks, Hoover. I've only had terrible luck with your vacuums, but I appreciate that your corporate bigwigs are trying to keep All My Children on the air::

The first advertiser to step forth and protest ABC Daytime’s decision to dispatch with both All My Children and One Life to Live, Hoover announced on Monday that it was pulling its advertising from ABC as a whole effective this Friday. In fact, “We’re making every attempt to pull our spots from these programs sooner,” reads the message from Brian Kirkendall, Hoover’s VP of Marketing, posted to the company’s Facebook page.

In a nice, personal touch, Kirkendall shares that his wife and mother are “both passionate viewers of All My Children and One Life to Live, as are many of my colleagues here at Hoover.” As such, he says that Hoover is “as disappointed with this [double cancellation] news as you are.”

Beyond not showing ABC the money, Hoover has set up the email address [email protected]. The company will collect messages from soap fans and relay them to ABC through its own channels.

“We’re 150% committed to doing what matters most to you,” says Hoover’s rallying cry to soap fans, “so if there’s anything else we can do to help or you have any ideas, please email [us].”

It won't be around until much later this year, but the combination of Michael Mann, David Milch, Dustin Hoffman, and the stories of degenerate gamblers at the horse track is enough to sell me on any show, so I might have to cave and cough up the cash for a HBO subscription just to watch Luck. See you later, $12 a month.

A few years ago, AMC decided to follow HBO's format, aspiring to become the best place on cable television for critically-acclaimed hour-long dramas. Mad Men was a perfect first foray. It was stylish and sophisticated, yet broad enough to appeal to culture at large. Mad Men is, in effect, AMC's version of The Sopranos: a flagship show with enough innate cool to gloss over the rare imperfection.

Hey Dude, filmed on the property of the Tanque Verde Guest Ranch near Tucson, Arizona, will (finally) be released on DVD July 19th. And only $13.99 as a pre-order on Amazon!

Terrible TV news...at least for me, a guy who spent a few years freelancing and watching daytime television with my wife. Erica, Kendall, Bianca, Jack, J.R., and most importantly, David Hayward: I'll miss you all when the 41 year long run of All My Children ends in September. This also ends my dream of becoming a professional All My Children blogger. It's been a rough day.

Oh, and they're canceling One Life to Live too, but I never watched that one.

Two classic ABC soap operas will soon meet their demise: "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" will air their final episodes in September 2011 and January 2012, respectively, leaving only "General Hospital" to survive them. No word yet on whether they'll rise from the dead, like "One Life to Live"'s Elijah Clarke, after being snuffed out.

[...]

In place of the two soaps will be two new series, "The Chew," a food show co-hosted by Mario Batali set to premiere in September 2011, and "The Revolution" (working title), a makeover show hosted by Tim Gunn that focuses on "health and lifestyle transformations" that will make its debut in January 2012.

"While we are excited about our new shows and the shift in our business, I can't help but recognize how bittersweet the change is," said Brian Frons, president of daytime for Disney ABC/Television Group, in a statement.

Noting that the two new series were inspired by the success of "The View," Frons said, "We are taking this bold step to expand our business because viewers are looking for different types of programming these days. They are telling us there is room for informative, authentic and fun shows that are relatable, offer a wide variety of opinions and focus on 'real life' takeaways."

[LA Times]