All That You Want

• The Monologue:
• I've had a cold for a week now and I can only chalk it up to the fact that Delonte West slept with my immune system.
• Sarah Palin is helping Arizona governor Jan Brewer defend the state's controversial immigration law. To be fair, it is tough when you can see Mexico from your front porch.
• 1990 just called in this joke: You know the oil spill got out of hand when using it for John Stamos' hair stopped being a possibility.
• Random Pop Culture:
• It seems to be a generally accepted belief that Lost and House are the two best network TV shows. They are the only two that seriously challenge the cable shows in the Emmys. The season premiere of House was universally lauded, but the season, with the exception of the great Cuddy- and Wilson-centric episodes, was full of episodes typical of the show. Until tonight's finale. It was almost Grey's-esque in its treatment of a big accident with the doctors trying to help trauma victims. It was much darker than a Grey's episode though, as House tried to help one woman who was trapped under rubble. He came clean about his self-image and he amputated the woman's leg. Good times. The camera work was fantastic, using dust and a shaky picture to set the scene. The writers also made the interesting choice of bringing in a usual diagnostic plot and then dropping it before the conclusion with no fanfare as events unfolded for House. Really, really impressive work for a network show.
• And not so impressive was tonight's How I Met Your Mother. It was funny in spite of itself. The premise was bad. That's not quite right. The premise was one of the worst premises I've ever seen in a sitcom, and that's saying something. The idea of a movie so closely based on someone is unbelievable, the movie itself was beyond awful, the reaction to it was way over the top. It had some moments, but that was embarrassing for a sweeps episode.
• My dog is farting right now with the frequency of a Mel Brooks scene. That's not pop culture, but it should be.
• Random Music Video:
• Trent Reznor turns 45 today. That's kind of scary. Closer may be the most overrated song of all time. This one is better.