Ox Notes: August 28, 2008

Oddsmakers have expanded beyond betting on which celebrity will win Dancing with the Stars 7 to include odds on which celebrity is most likely to be arrested for DUI, and which two celebs are most likely to get romantic backstage. A Lance Bass-Kim Kardashian hook up leads with 5/1 odds, despite the fact that Bass is openly gay.

Kim Kardashian spoke to Entertainment Tonight about her recent foot injury.

OK! Magazine reports that former DwtS flames Karina Smirnoff & Mario Lopez might be back together again.

After having met all of the Survivor: Gabon contestants in Africa, Reality Blurred's Andy Dehnart ranked the contestants by whom he liked the best.

Survivor's biggest competition, new FOX game show Hole in the Wall, is moving its premiere up to September 7 in an effort to hook viewers before Survivor: Gabon debuts on the 25th.

EW has a slideshow of 15 Stars to Watch on television this fall.

Project Runway judge Michael Kors blogged about last night's episode, as did the always insightful Tim Gunn. His blog is required-reading for PR fans who want to know just how different the show looks from the inside.

Tim Gunn has been offering his opinions on celebrity style to various news outlets. He told Us Magazine that Michelle Obama is the more fashionable potential future first lady, and he told OK! Magazine that Miley Cyrus's look is "too tarty."

The Muppet Show may return to the airwaves, provided the next Muppet movie does well at the box office.

MSNBC's hosts seem a little stressed by all of this convention coverage, especially Joe Scarborough, who engaged in an on-air insult contest with David Shuster that lasted for nearly five minutes.

The creator of CSI, Anthony Zuiker, plans to create three "digital novels," in which a series of written chapters are followed by a short Internet video that segues into the next series of chapters. At the conclusion of the novel, readers can join a virtual book club to discuss the material.

While I'm intrigued by the concept, I was disappointed to learn what Zuiker claims inspired the idea. He told Variety, "I personally don’t have the attention economy to read a 250-page crime novel from start to finish."

"Attention economy"? When did that replace the phrase "attention span"? How distressing that an adult can't muster the attention to read 250 pages, while grade schoolers managed to make it through all 850+ pages of Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix.

This article from the Times Online explains how our digital culture is making us dumber and less able to concentrate. After rereading the article, I'm not so sure the "digital novel" is such a great idea.