Afternoon Meme: "U.S. of Tara" Meet the Gays, Vanessa Williams in "Sondheim on Sondheim," and Henry Rollins Has a Sexy Mind

The goddess that is Vanessa Williams is doing Sondheim on Sondheim while Ugly Betty winds down.  Or it could be Wilhediva Hater impersonating Williams.

Avatar hits BluRay and DVD April 22, but it’s going to be in 2D. Which is fine, because my living room ceilings aren’t high enough for a Na’vi anyhow.

Henry Rollins not only judges RuPaul’s Drag Race, he also writes wonderfully gay supportive editorials in Vanity Fair. And really revs my motor.

SyFy has greenlit a pilot called Three Inches. Once you get your mind out of the gutter, I’ll tell you it’s a lame superhero show. Not lame in “it sucks” but about a superhero with lame powers, like telekinesis that only allows him to move objects three inches.

Here’s a list of the 12 Best South Park Political Parodies, several of which I’d forgotten about. These guys have been pushing boundaries a long time.

Tiger Woods says he’ll return to golf for the Masters next month. I’m resisting making naughty jokes about swapping clubs.

The U.K. changed the rules for condom commercials to help fight HIV. Now the commercials don’t have to air after 9 P.M. In fact, they just have common sense restrictions, like not airing on programs targeting kids under 10-years-old. But I still say they underestimate the number of adult stoners watching Yo-Gabba-Gabba.

Unemployed hipsters are buying fancy organic food with their food stamps, and some people think this is bad. I’ve always found the total immunity to shame hipsters have to be refreshing.

Sky TV has purchased 15,000 3D televisions to deploy into UK. pubs for Premiere League soccer matches. Gives beer goggles a whole new meaning.

We know I had already expressed concern that Jason Segel was writing the upcoming film for my beloved Muppets. Now comes the news he’s also starring in the film. He’s my least favorite How I Met Your Mother character, and I’ve never been moved to see one of his movies, so I’m not happy.

Michael Jackson has just completed the largest record deal in history, and he’s not even alive. Sony has agreed to shell out $200 million to his estate in order to release some demo tracks and some old albums. It might sound crazy, but Jackson has sold 31 million albums worldwide since he died.

We have a few frightening (relatively) pictures today, so I thought I'd start with something safe. Meet Sparks, the latest Toy Story 3 character introduction.

Sparks will fly – literally – during electrifying playtimes with your new robot friend Sparks! This retro-inspired toy has flashing red LED eyes and a blaster cavity that actually spits out real sparks when he’s rolled along on his sturdy rubber wheels. Sparks also sports telescoping arms with working pincers, and an elevator action that raises his entire body to new heights. Sparking action completely child-safe. Requires two AA batteries (not included).

How retro of them.

If you need a job. Might be a good idea to ask why they have an opening.

I had never noticed it, but without the abs,it's his doppelganger.

I love a good infographic. This one explains that if Americans were to all live at the same population density as people in Brooklyn endure, the entire U.S. population would fit into New Hampshire, freeing up a ton of space. Probably for more malls.

I'm going to go walk in the field behind my house now.

You know all those videos about people waking up in the middle of surgery? Plus how scary surgery is all on its own? This is worse.

How are you feeling?

I wonder what's so funny?

Today we have a couple clips from the season premiere of The United States of Tara. The first features a neighborhood death allowing the neighborhood gays to meet Tara and her family. I love that they're playing with the fact that there are no secrets in suburbia: Everyone knows Tara is the crazy one, and that Ted (Michael Hitchcock) and Hany (Sammy Sheik) are gay, even if they don't know the actual people.

The May-December thing going on with Ted and Hany is interesting, and I hope it gets explored on the show, but with secondary characters, one never knows. I also find it interesting that in this clip from the dinner party/brunch, they tend to imply Hany is Indian. I checked the actor's bio, and the 29-year-old hottie is from Alexandria, Egypt. And yes, this may make him playing a gay character a very interesting interview, right boss?

Comedy Central is desperately trying to make us care about their new animate show Ugly Americans. Even after this clip showing the first ten minutes of the show, I can't say it really excites me, though some of the other bits have potential. I love irreverent animation, but this just seems like it's trying too hard.

Joy Behar talks to Constance McMillen, the Mississippi lesbian teen who had her prom canceled by the school rather than allow her to attend the prom with her girlfriend.