Countdown to the straight guy

Took in some new programming this week. After reading an article on him, I sampled MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann. It'll probably take a few more viewings to see if they're actually doing a good job of it, but at first blush, it seems like a nice marriage of the Sportscenter mindset and the news. Basically, you synthesize the day's events with ESPN's "Plays of the Week." It might actually get me watching real news for once, instead of getting most of my televised coverage from Comedy Central.

Then, in an effort to actually catch a show that's getting massive amounts of buzz, I caught Bravo's Queer Eye For The Straight Guy. There's definitely something to be said for this show, if only to affirm that I'm not nearly as hopeless, style-wise, as some people out there. Although my roommate was begging to differ at a couple of points. Plus, it's pretty funny. Sometimes in an overt, "Will and Grace" way with regard to the gay factor, but sometimes much more subtly.

Both of these shows run counter to my normal viewing habits, though, as they're not "appointment TV," or in my case, "time-shifted appointment TV" (unless I get a TiVo, I guess, at which point the effort becomes much less). And while I claim not to just flip channels because I have nothing better to do, it does happen every once in a while, and now I've got some destinations to keep an eye on. A straight eye, that is.