Random thoughts while frying the brain on TV

+ It is simply amazing, once you start looking for it, how many times advertisers and politicans appeal to our fears in the course of a day. Spend an hour with the glowing idiot box, and you'll be afraid of swine flu, terrorists, our government itself, various ailments of the mind and body, and - with all of the potential side effects - of taking any pill at all.

It's also amazing, once you're on to the game, how easy it is to laugh at it all. While fast-forwarding through the ads, I've come (to Sweetie amusement, I hope) of grabbing an ad at random and intoning, for example, "Ask your doctor if the Cadillac Enclave is right for you."

+ I am again amazed at the mind of Joss Whedon and his ability to bring a story to life. It took a few weeks for Dollhouse to capture my fancy, but - surprise, surprise - it has become one of the most compelling programs on television. And that was who I thought it was in the previews for this Friday, wasn't it?

+ Am I the only one who thinks sick thoughts during the "five-dollar footlong" commercials, or am I the only one who's not sure it's an intentional double entendre?