Easiest. Paycheck. Ever.

Did you watch Bachelor Pad? And if so, did you wear a full body condom?

I know it’s trashy. I know it’s exploitative. I don’t care. It is so good.

Bachelor Pad throws any semblance of love out the window–bringing back some of the hottest and craziest contestants from seasons past for 3 weeks of contests, making out, fighting, making out, tears and making out.

There will be champagne. There will be roses. And you’d better believe there will be hot tubs. (There will also probably be HPV, but let’s not think of that, shall we?)

First up, the crazy-bad:

No surprise here: Michelle, Juan, and Craig are all deplorable in their own, wonderful ways. Luckily, Michelle and Juan are already gone. Craig is probably on the chopping block next week, and I will not miss him. He’s a meanie. More critically, his hair is a disaster.

But, lo!  We also have the crazy-good:

Okay, Elizabeth is truly batsh*t insane. On the plus side, she’s entertaining to watch, is ridiculously manipulative, and she does seem to genuinely “love” (AKA be obsessed with) Jesse Kovacs–who you know is regretting that terrible day he first thought, “Dude, that girl’s hot” and hooked up with her.

Love is in the air:

Tenley is still a Disney Princess who farts rainbows, and she and Kiptyn are obviously going to fall in love and have peppy but dimwitted babies. Meanwhile, hottest Bachelor ever (?) Jesse B. and “Only God does not have a connection with me” Natalie are falling in sweet lust before our very eyes. I predict tears, Valtrex, and ill-advised infatuation tattoos.

Thank you, ABC. Let the journey begin!

The most dramatic rose ceremony ever?  Maybe not…but it was still pretty darn surprising!

Not only did Bachelorette Ali choose sexy-as-hell Roberto (proving wrong all the spoiler-naysayers who claimed she picked nobody), but she decided to let the sweetness Chris go early, which I thought was kind of her.  (Would have been kinder to actually, you know, return Chris’s love…but he just went through a national wife audition and now has his pick of women.  Dude will be fine.)

Oh, and whoever decided to play “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” as we looked back on Ali and Roberto’s “journey?”  They deserve a raise.

Next up: Bachelor Pad!  Cannot.  Wait.

(God, sometimes I really hate my taste in television. I’m writing this as I’m watching Big Brother in the background.  Really, it’s just shameful.)

People.  Check out this band, Foxxglove, and tell me if my friend Bevin Hamilton and her bandmate Lisa Donnelly are not the hottest things ever?

After watching their video, I just want to run off to Barstow and find me a cowboy.  Sort of like how, upon seeing Legends of the Fall, I decided that Montana must be filled (filled, I tell you!) with sexy horsemen who looked just like Brad Pitt.  (Before he went crazy and started scalping people…or tried to start a small village with Angie in real life.)

Anyhow, Bevin and Lisa honed their skills on tour with Motley Crue last year–badass!–and now Foxxglove is playing this Friday July 23rd at the Viper Room in LA.  11pm.  Be there.  I certainly will!

I recently finished reading Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace With Marriage by Elizabeth Gilbert and found it absolutely fascinating.  Here’s my little video review!  (For some reason, I start cracking myself up around minute 2.  Good times in the Jolie household.)

For some reason, the news that Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston are engaged blows my mind.  (It certainly explains Levi’s public apologies to Sarah Palin recently!)

Even better?  According to the cover:

Sarah didn’t know.

Her response:

“Bristol at 19 is now a young adult. We obviously want what’s best for our children.  Bristol believes in redemption and forgiveness to a degree most of us struggle to put in practice in our daily lives.”

Um.  Good luck you crazy kids?

Friends!  I have a request for you: consider it your good deed for the day.  A wonderful old friend of mine from high school in Atlanta, Janet Geddis, is in the process of opening a community book store in Athens, Georgia, called Avid Bookshop, dedicated to selling new books, used books in good condition, yummy coffee, and hosting fun, flavorful local events and readers.  (Think of the Shop Around the Corner in You’ve Got Mail, but for UGA students!)

Obviously, with Barnes & Noble gobbling up everything in site (and the Nook, iPad and Kindle nibbling at the heels of the traditional bookstore!), I’d love to throw as much support as possible behind Janet and her lifelong bookshop-owning dream.

Could you please go to Refresh Everything and vote for Janet’s project to win a fundraising grant?  The top 10 vote-getters will receive a $50,000 grant toward their small business!  In the meantime, if you want to visit her bookstore blog, it’s here, and you can see a great video Janet made for the Pepsi Refresh Everything project (which, quite literally, takes 2 seconds to vote for!) below:

Fellow book lovers, unite!

PS – What’s your favorite book of all-time?  Mine is The Great Gatsby, but I think it’s time for a re-read to see if that still holds true!  Comment below if you have any good suggestions to share!  (Water for Elephants will be my next read.)