Some notes.

Mandisa got the lowest score on "American Idol"; she's now off the show. Interesting note about her on Michael Giltz's blog (http://popsurfing.blogspot.com) about a week ago, and it seems that she lost a huge fan base. Watched the end of "The Vice": absolutely shattering, especially in contrast with this week's "Law and Order: SVU", which had a similar ploy... but in "The Vice" the character played by Eddie Stott does lose it, and strangles the bad guy (a horrific scene) whereas in "SVU" you know that Mariska Hargitay won't lose it. Sunday was a day of TV: "Huff", "So NoTORIous" and (yes) "The Surreal Life" which is certainly surreal this year, what with Alexis Arquette's appearance as a transgendered (fe)male. Also "The Next Food Network Star". Have to say that Sharon Stone's appearance on "Huff" was fun, as much fun as her performance in "Broken Flowers" last year.

I'm starting to hate holidays, because my mother is such a pain. Once again, she's making problems... this time about the plans for Easter. I just wish... i can't even say it, it's too mean. But this is the woman who once screamed at me that i was causing problems for "her family" (and she didn't mean me, she meant her brother; when your mother lets you know she doesn't consider you part of her family... why do i even bother to speak to this woman?)... and she's doing it again. Once, in high school, one of my teachers asked me if my mother was proud of me (because i was such a know-it-all, especially about philosophy), and i said, no.

Kenny used to hate holidays, because his family would gather together and get drunk and start fighting. In the last year, my mother has made holidays a horror, because she's finally realized that what she wants is "her family", and that doesn't mean her children, but her one living brother (who wants nothing to do with her, and he's let her know it; the reason is that he has already used her and gotten all he can out of her, and she's of no use to him, so why bother?) and her sisters. She made Christmas a nightmare because she was brooding and miserable because she wanted to be with "her family", as if her sons and her daughter and their children weren't enough. But we're not for her. And the last person on earth that she wants to have anything to do with is me, her oldest child. And she keeps letting me know it.

And why do i put up with this? So i didn't: i let her have it tonight.

But even though it was dramatic, did it accomplish anything? I doubt it.