About three years ago I saw Ruth Brown in Los Angeles, singing as part of a PBS presentation to tout the "The Blues" series. Bobby Rush was also there, which was cool enough, but Brown — even in a semi-casual setting like this — was royalty.

Brown has died. (Obit here.) She was 78 years old. Some folks may know her only for a small role in John Waters's "Hairspray." But I like to think of her as "Miss Rhythm," the name she picked up as a star for Atlantic Records from 1949 to 1961. As the liner notes acknowledge on the "Miss Rhythm: Greatest Hits and More" CD collection, she was such a success — a couple of dozen chart hits — that Atlantic was dubbed "the house that Ruth built."

Remember, this is a label whose roster over the years included Aretha Franklin, Bobby Darin, Cream (and Eric Clapton solo), Led Zeppelin, Otis Redding and other stars too numerous to lift here. All built on the back of Ruth Brown.

But I wouldn't be writing about her here if she was merely a commercial success. Instead, I am thinking especially of "Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean," a stomping, shrieking blues that for years seemed to pop up on every various-artist anthology Atlantic made. "Wild Wild Young Men." "Teardrops From My Eyes." …

I'm going to have to play her some tonight or tomorrow.

She doesn't rank among my favorites, partly because the style of her recordings didn't resonate with me the way, say, Aretha and other '60s soul does. Her songs are in many case a transition between big-band jazz and the harder r&B to come, and the blend doesn't work for my ears. But she was a marvelous, commanding singer, one who was not always as honored as she should have been. (If overstuffed memory serves, she was not a prominent part of the Atlantic 40th-anniversary concert I saw in New York City.) But she is still more than worth a listen.

Today's Beacon Journal includes my piece on Calvin Trillin, my look at the new James Bond and "Casino Royale" and a HeldenFiles. I'll have another piece on Sunday and had to work ahead on some Thanksgiving things. Busy times, and a big reason why I haven't been here. (I am beginning to feel as if my eyes are glued to a monitor.)

That is probably irksome to those of you kind enough to check in here regularly. It is definitely irksome to me. We've got a conversation going here — all right, I have a monologue and you folks make it a conversation — and I have enjoyed it from day one. So here's some of my recent viewing. You will note I enjoyed it all to varying degrees. With less time for TV, I'm more likely to watch things I'm predisposed to like. When you've read my bit, jump in with yours.

"The Office." Good squirmy-funny episode last night. (Best line in both those categories: "Was your dad a GI?") Loved the interaction between the two staffs, Phyllis getting tough, Stanley being Stanley, "The Scranton Witch Project" (a great throwaway after "Lazy Scranton"), Dwight and his new nemesis and, oh, the looks on Pam's face. Still the smartest comedy on television.

"30 Rock." Not in the "Office" league but still funny. Great expression from Tracy Morgan when he was trying to figure out whether to hold the bluff about reading. Also fine the way Tina went all Afterschool Special about literacy; nice that she lets herself be a jerk. Good use of Krakowski — sparing but effective when there. And Alec Baldwin. Well, he's Alec Baldwin. His presence made the recent "Saturday Night Live" one of the best "SNL" telecasts I have seen in awhile.

"My Name Is Earl." Disappointing this week. Not enough Joy and Crab Man, maybe. And Randy was off his game. The Claymation joke faded quickly, and the Christian Slater cameo wasn't all that inspired. Of the three super-sized comedies last night, this one felt the most padded. I'm hoping it's just an off week. And even in an off week, it's pretty good to back some of the commune stuff with Ten Years After.

"Grey's Anatomy." I haven't seen it for a few weeks, and that may be a good thing. As a "Grey's" fan at work noted, they've dragged out the Burke plot far too long to be plausible (although "Grey's" often pushes implausibility). I managed to miss some of the dragging. Good to see Meredith a little settled. Liked the stuff with George's father — surprised they were willing to pile on like that. Cristina's always watchable, and the Chief is a grand, sad soul. Could have done without the Alex and Izzy stuff, weakest part of the episode (and Izzy's return is way, way down on my plausibility meter). Still, I enjoyed the hour. I'm beginning to think "Grey's" right now is better in smaller doses.

"Survivor." A show I had more or less voluntarily drifted away from, since it seemed to be getting boring. Much better now. Love the smaller, smarter tribe kicking sand at the bigger, inept tribe. Stunned that Jonathan hasn't been dumped yet; the man could not remember compass directions for 10 seconds. Liked the dump-two twist. Will definitely be back next week.

"Jericho." I won't for a minute pretend that this is a realistic depiction of life after nuclear bombs have gone off. (That fallout sure proved easy to get rid of.) And some things just seem too soapy — right, the wife is pregnant just as her husband is about to dump her. But I am watching it, a lot. It's suspenseful, the action is well done, the characters are understandable and the mystery aspects feel  as if they can be explained — not the sort of stretch-it-and-bend-it mystery of, say, "The X-Files," "Lost" or "Alias." "Jericho" is taking us somewhere, and I am happy to follow along.

"Veronica Mars." No ambivalence here, and a good, disturbing episode that continued this season's threads about trust and judging character. The look on Keith's face when he realized he had declined in Veronica's eyes! The rape attempt, and the reminding viewers that she had been in this awful place before. One quibble: The spiked drink was blatantly telegraphed. When she came back to her table, the open drink was so much in the foreground, I immediately thought, "Uh-oh."

"Lost." Yeah, I'm way late on this one. But I just want to share the profound lack of enthusiasm for the midseason cliffhanger that so many other folks have felt. One of my co-workers called it the worst "Lost" ever. Not sure I would go that far, although I am not easily coming up with a specific-episode rebuttal. Still, it was using a lot of amped-up acting to mask a low-octane story. Definitely a wasted hour, probably a wasted fall.

Since yesterday, Calvin Trillin has been meeting with classes and — tonight — giving a talk at the University of Akron. I have spent part of each day hanging around while he talked, and here and there talking to him as well. I have collected a lot of string, and I am beginning to see what I can make of it — which is a good thing, since I have to write the story Thursday.

I am also in a bit of a panic. Regular readers here know that I am a Trillin fan, so I am trying to write about a writer who is light years better than I am. Even composing an e-mail put me in a sweat. And I asked for this assignment.

We'll see how the string fits together. Fitting this into my schedule has been challenging by itself. I went to work a bit early this morning, to finish my mailbag column for Thursday (since it was due today). Then I went to a class where Trillin talked. Then I went back to the office — in walking range of the UA campus — and worked on a HeldenFiles column for Wednesday and the daily Pop Quiz question-and-answer before going back to UA, where Trillin talked to another class, and then stuck around while he talked to some students informally.

I think I have mentioned here before the merits of just hanging around. You end up with more material than you need, but you also have more to choose from when you write the story. So I was glad to do it. Then I went back to the office to finish the HeldenFiles before heading home for a little time with my family — before going back to the university to hear Trillin's talk tonight.

A lot of bouncing around there, and more later. Since getting home, I've spent a little time on research for another project I have to do this week. But how can I complain? I was listening to Trillin. And tomorrow I'll listen some more.

I have a sticky note on my desk listing the shows I want to write about here: "Saturday Night Live," "Jericho," "Veronica Mars," "Lost," "Studio 60," "My Name Is Earl," "The Office" … and "Friday Night Lights."

I'll take a moment now to deal with "Friday Night Lights," and not only because NBC gave out some good news about it today. It is so thoughtful, so grim, so determined not to be a bright-lights portrayal of life that can better just because the team wins the big game. Instead, it has become more and more about trying to be moral in a moral swamp — especially in terms of the coach, played by Kyle Chandler, who wants right and wrong to be absolutes while operating in a world where no one, including himself at times, can see things that clearly. Still an amazing, disturbing show. So here's NBC's announcement:

NBC has given a full-season order for 2006-07 to its critically hailed freshman drama "Friday Night Lights" (Tuesdays, 8-9 p.m. ET), it was announced today by Kevin Reilly, President, NBC Entertainment.

"We're proud to reward an authentic, poignant series like 'Friday Night Lights' with a full-season order, demonstrating our confidence in it's appeal and quality," said Reilly. "Television critics and devoted fans have supported the show with well-deserved praise for the executive producers, writers and exceptionally talented cast."

To which I can only add, three cheers.

For the last few days, every time I thought about posting here, I had other things to do. It's not as if I haven't been busy either, as you can see here. Note the Calvin Trillin advance, the review of '"Stranger Than Fiction," today's piece on celebrity breakups, a new DVD column and the ongoing HeldenFiles (although I didn't see Sunday's posted yet).

Elsewhere on ohio.com you can also find my column about Russell Crowe's Cary Grant move. But judging from the weekend box office, most people could not imagine him that way. And although I haven't written about it yet, I saw the new James Bond. Good actor, decent action, overlong movie.

Hoping to get some more things posted tonight or tomorrow, especially about TV. I am still watching…

I haven't gotten around to writing about how much I disliked this week's episode, the first of two parts. But it doesn't matter, since NBC is going to let the show keep bugging me. The official word, with ratings rationalizing:

NBC has renewed its critically acclaimed, first-year drama "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" (Mondays, 10-11 p.m. ET) for the remainder of the 2006-07 season, it was announced today by Kevin Reilly, President, NBC Entertainment.

"I am pleased to show our support for this outstanding and ambitious effort from executive producers Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme," said Reilly. "From the start, they have delivered the superb show that we wanted. The critical support has been rock-solid and there is a passionate core audience. We can't wait for what's going to come in the remainder of the season."

"Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" is averaging a 4.0 rating, 9 share in adults 18-49 and 9.8 million viewers overall (through November 6) and has increased its rating week-to-week in 18-49 with each of its last two telecasts. "Studio 60" has consistently delivered some of the highest audience concentrations among all primetime network series in such key upscale categories as adults 18-49 living in homes with $75,000-plus and $100,000-plus incomes and in homes where the head of household has four or more years of college.

Here's where CBS says to find it:

Starting today, CBS will stream the four remaining original episodes of the prime-time drama SMITH on its broadband channel, innertube (www.cbs.com/innertube).  The episodes will be available free of charge, with minimal commercial interruption, for four weeks.  The first three episodes, which had already aired, will also return online so internet audiences can see all seven original episodes in their entirety.  Also, a written synopsis of how the producers planned to resolve the serialized drama will be provided by the show's writers and posted on the series' website at www.CBS.com.

Additionally, Warner Bros. Television is making all seven episodes of SMITH available via digital download in November as well as AOL, Amazon and Apple's iTunes Store, so that viewers will be able see the four new original episodes or watch all seven.  Fans will have the opportunity to see the series unfold and will have the satisfaction of knowing the intended resolution of the on-going plotlines.

SMITH premiered on the CBS Television Network on Tuesday, September 19th and ran for three episodes.  The pilot and episodes two and three were streamed on innertube for one week immediately following their initial broadcasts on the Network.

From ABC this afternoon:

"MEN IN TREES" is moving to Thursday nights at 10:00 p.m., ET, as of November 30, ABC Entertainment announced today. In addition, the series has been picked up for a full season order. "MEN IN TREES" will air in that timeslot through December, and "Six Degrees" will return with all original episodes in January 2007.

From CBS today, a couple of things of note. The network is sufficiently happy with "Jericho" that it doesn't want people to burn out on reruns, and the people who keep asking me about "King of Queens" finally have an answer. Here's the skinny from CBS:

JERICHO, CBS's hit freshman drama about the aftermath of a nuclear explosion in a small, peaceful Kansastown, will be broadcast without repeats for the remainder of the 2006-2007 season. The network announced today that it has devised a scheduling pattern to broadcast JERICHO in two distinct seasons. 

JERICHO will conclude its "fall season" with a cliffhanger finale on Wednesday, Nov. 29 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) and come back in February with all original episodes for the remainder of the season.

JERICHO will return on February 14th with a recap special looking back at the first 11 episodes, followed by an original episode on February 21st.  The all-new episode on February 21st will provide a look into life in Jericho the day before the nuclear bombs exploded.

To sustain audience momentum and update potential new viewers, CBS will create an online destination for JERICHO during the show's 10-week intermission.  The site will include original content, interactive elements, recaps and sneak previews. CBS will also continue to stream all episodes of JERICHO broadcast to date on its broadband channel innertube.  Currently, JERICHO is the Network's most-streamed program on innertube. …

In a related announcement, Kevin James, Leah Remini and Jerry Stiller return with original episodes of THE KING OF QUEENS in December.

CBS will broadcast back-to-back new episodes of THE KING OF QUEENS on Wednesday, Dec. 6 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) and Wednesday, Dec. 13 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET).  New episodes of THE KING OF QUEENS will also be broadcast on Wednesday, Dec. 20 (8:00-8:30 PM, ET/PT) and Wednesday Dec. 27 (8:00-8:30 PM, ET/PT).  Seven more episodes of THE KING OF QUEENS to be broadcast in 2007 will be announced at a later date.

CBS will also announce additional programming for the Wednesday (8:00-9:00 PM) time period at a later time.

The second season of "Joan of Arcadia" has finally come to DVD; a copy landed on my desk today, with a release date of Nov. 28.

I still think that the wheels fell off "Joan" in the second season — after an often delightful first — but am glad that the DVD is coming out for the sake of completists and the people who kept their passion for the series during its entire run.

The DVD consists of 22 episodes in widescreen, with four making-of segments and commentaries on four episodes, including the season opener and finale; commentaries are by series creator Barbara Hall and executive producers Stephen Nathan and James Hayman, none by actors on the show. List price is $64.99.

It was about 2 a.m. when I finally settled into bed. I had tried to sleep once before that, but couldn't do it with so much election drama. I would watch TV for a bit, then check the newspaper Web sites in key states — watching, for example, as the Virginia returns crept from 99.25 percent to 99.35 percent — then go back to TV. So now I'm yawning. But, as the bride pointed out this morning, this is one of the ways I have fun.

I know, it's election day. My "I Voted" sticker is on my computer, OK? But that's minor news today compared to Britney Spears's filing for divorce from Kevin Federline. You can find the story — and the court papers — at www.tmz.com.

I may file more later, after I stop laughing.

OK, it's much later and I have stopped laughing. Some. I'm mostly amused by the idea of what K-Fed will do with the rest of his life — how long before he has to make a book deal, when he'll end up on a reality show, at what point he'll develop a substance-abuse or gambling problem, that sort of thing.

Also, at first I thought Britney's people were pretty smart to have her file on Election Day, when news organizations could not go wall-to-wall about her. But it doesn't seem as wise a move as the night drags on, because there are folks who are looking for almost anything except politics to read and talk about — especially those who didn't see the need to vote. Britney is their answer.

Well, that and "Dancing With the Stars."

Kind of weird tonight not to be hip-deep in election coverage. I'm grazing here and there, but it's not like the years when I would have three TV sets going simultaneously. Admittedly, that was usually for presidential elections. Still, I have many, many other things I am supposed to keep track of. Britney really was breaking news for tomorrow's HeldenFiles. In fact, I had already planned a K-Fed item that I ended up retooling in the context of the divorce.

I'll feel more like myself after "Veronica Mars."

All right, so I didn't get to "Veronica" yet. Election coverage dragged me back in. This year, though, I was more of an online fan than usual, cruising Web sites for papers with races I had an interest in — in Cincinnati, Virginia, Montana …

Hey, I've been an elections nut for a long time.

From Fox today:

Television’s biggest event, AMERICAN IDOL, returns for its sixth season with more talented singers than ever before and more of the outrageous auditions that have everyone talking in a special two-night, four-hour season premiere Tuesday, Jan. 16 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) and Wednesday, Jan. 17 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. Starting Jan. 23 and Jan. 24, the audition shows will air in their regular time periods, Tuesdays (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) and Wednesdays (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT).

Host Ryan Seacrest is back, and judges Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson return to lend their professional expertise, personal comments and sometimes tough criticism to a new crop of aspiring singers. Some will get the judges’ approval and others will hear the cold, hard truth! Guest judges Olivia Newton John, Carol Bayer Sager and Jewel also joined the road trip this season. Find out what these celebrity judges had to say about the talent around the country and who gets the “gold ticket” to Hollywood.