PROMISED ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WEREN'T DELIVERED, BUT "JOHN FROM CINCINNATI" ENDED AS IT BEGAN! WITH WELL ACTED STUPIDITY!!!

Okay. I'll take the word of David Milch's sycophants. He's a genius!!!

But accepting that is also having to accept the fact that he's "too hip for the room".

I'm one of very few people in America who saw every episode of "John From Cincinnati", a series that began on HBO a little more than two months ago.

Series creator David Milch cast this show very well. I mean, he talked a bunch of very fine actors into delivering drivel in a way that would make all other actors envious and proud.

I mean, if you can deliver this crap with your heads held high and do it in a way that makes viewers (like me) believe that you believe in what you're doing, that's some seriously fine acting.

A good friend of mine, laradio.com Publisher Don Barrett and I had a conversation about "John From Cincinnati" a few days ago. Like me, Don had seen every episode. And like me, he agreed that the show made no sense. The question he asked me was, "Why do you think that we continue to watch this week after week?" I gave some sort of rambling answer that would have made David Milch proud. An answer about having trouble making shoelaces fit my shoes, but I continue to try to make them fit because I've made up my mind they're right for my shoes.

Huh?!?

Exactly.

My answer to my friend Don Barrett's question made as much sense as the entire story line of "John From Cincinnati". People who are very good at making shoelaces fit, were stuck with the wrong shoes.

AND THEN THERE'S "ALL THE KING'S MEN":

I didn't see a new movie this weekend, but I did watch a film on STARZ that got bad reviews when it was released to theatres. "All The King's Men" is a film that was allegedly very loosely based on a former governor of Louisiana named Huey Long. Sean Penn played this character, but he was named Willie Stark in the film.

After seeing this film, the feeling here is that all references to Huey Long before the film was released, should have been eliminated. To me, this film should simply have been advertised as some kind of political thriller.

And when I watched it yesterday afternoon, that's what I had in my head.

In addition to Penn, "All The King's Men" featured fine performances from Jude Law, James Gandolfini, Patricia Clarkson, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins, Kate Winslett and Jackie Earle Haley as Willie Starks' faithful bodyguard.

A lot of people don't like Sean Penn because of what he says about our political leaders, but folks, I gotta tell ya...Ever since he showed up playing a "stoner" in 1982's "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", Sean Penn has become one of our truly great actors. And I thought that Sean Penn's performance in "All The King's Men" was off the charts terrific.

SPEAKING OF POLITICAL LEADERS THAT PENN DOESN'T LIKE:

Have you heard about Karl Rove? President Bush's political mastermind who was a genius at injecting "fear" into political debates? "Fear" that kept Bush's opponents off balance long enough to not have an effective response until the cameras had been turned off?

Yeah, that guy.

Karl Rove has announced that he will leave the White House at the end of this month.

Who will replace Karl Rove? Nobody! Oh, a body will be put into his office, but Karl Rove's a genuine "one of a kind-er".

AND SPEAKING OF "ONE OF A KIND-ERS":

Merv Griffin passed away yesterday. Prostate cancer. He was 82.

Griffin wore a lot of hats during his remarkable career. Singer, talk show host, game show inventor, big time businessman.

When Griffin's talk show was on the same time as Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show", Griffin's show got creamed, but it's interesting to note that Griffin's producer at the time was Dick Carson, Johnny's brother. Dick said that the difference between Merv and Johnny was simple; "When John wakes up in the morning, he thinks about his monologue. Merv thinks about business."

Most of you know that Griffin invented two very famous game shows. "Jeopardy" in 1964 and "Wheel of Fortune" in 1975. When Griffin died, he was working on a new syndicated game show, "Merv Griffin's Crosswords."

Griffin's daytime talk show lasted more than 20 years and he said that "listening" was what made the show successful. "If the host is sitting there thinking about his next joke, he isn't listening."

IF YOU LIKE YOUR NUDITY, YOU FIGURE TO LIKE "CALIFORNICATION":

A new show debuts on Showtime at 10:30 tonight. David Duchovny stars as a guy named Hank Moody who, according to a review in today's L.A. Daily News, "Boozes and whores his way through life." "Californication" is only a half hour show, but tonight, four women will be shown naked.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Don't forget! You can HEAR this blog! The links to the stations broadcasting today's blog can be found at the bottom of my links section which is to the right of what you're reading now. It's the last links.

A new blog is written every morning, Monday through Friday and is posted between 7 and 7:15, Pacific Time. Sometimes earlier. Questions and comments can be sent to scottstjames@sbcglobal.net. I do write back.

TOMORROW: If I stay up late enough, I'll tell you what I think of "Californication" and anything else that makes me say, "Whaaaat?!?"