That's kinda what I've been on the last month. Ever since the vacation I haven't had the urge, the inclination for tv.com. I cannot fully explain it. You all know how I feel about you guys but I really did need a break and I believe you needed a break from me. I've never been one to multitask very well.

One obsession at a time is about all I can handle.

So am I back for good? Probably not like I was before the break. But I will try to be around more than I've been as of late.

T.W.

I think my 81 year old mother did my wife in. While I was in Houston the 2 most important individuals in my life spent the weekend shopping and walking, eating and driving. TW's back hasn't recovered YET. Two shots and a lot of painkillers later, she is managing the best she can.

Meanwhile, Mom is doin great.

Still in first place, the Cubs return home after a subpar4-6 road trip. They did receive some delightful news. They will send 7 players tothe All Star Game this year, a franchise record. The game is tapped for next Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. Alfonso Soriano, Geovany Soto, Aramis Ramiriz, Kosuke Fukudome, Ryan Dempster, Kerry Wood and Carlos Zambrano will join manager Lou Piniella in the National League dugout. My favorite Cub, Ryan Theriot, the only one hitting over .300 did not make the team.

The Next Food Network Star

Other than baseball, not a lot to watch this summer. One exception is this reality show, now in its 4th season, that hasn't always delivered the big stars. Last year's "winner" Amy Finley taped a grand total of six segments of her show "The Gourmet Next Door." According to her, they offered to do more but she opted out and moved to France. Of course season two champ Guy Fieri is a breakout star with a number of vehicles for The Food Network including "Guy's Big Bite" and "Diner's, Drive-ins & Dives." First season's winners, Hearty Boys Dan and Steve weren't the splash the network hoped for, either. To be honest, however, the Chicago-based real life couple have taped 32 episodes of their show "Party Line with The Hearty Boys" which I find entertaining (pardon the pun).

As for this season's wannabes, the five finalists are poised to strut their stuff in the homestretch. They appeared on Rachael Ray's talk show with their own Brownie (Girl Scout, not the dessert) and there were a number of surprises.

SPOILER ALERT (eliminated contestant revealed at the conclusion of this review.)

Aaron's Shining Moment

His culinary chops never in doubt, his nemesis ha always been the camera, the spotlight, the defining moment of presentation. But Aaron embraced this moment as he is a daddy himself and so he is right at home with his Junior Chef and knocks the ball out of the park.

Kelsey's Authority

All season long the judges have tried to get Kelsey (who I keep referring to as Casey) to 'grow up' and seize authority in her food segments. Well, she tried, bless her heart but it backfires. She connects well with her kid partner but makes Rachael do the actual cooking! Meanwhile, all Kelsey does is talk and it puts her in a vulnerable position of possible elimination. Thus ends a string of successes that has seen one recipe get published on a Red Lobster menu and another featured in Bon Appetit magazine.

Adam's Inner Child

On thin ice in the early going, there has always been someone just a little worse when it came time to get the boot. Adam has gotten this far on charm alone. The food for the most part has been undercooked and one more slipup and he would most certainly be history. So he comes out with his partner and absolutely kills! The audience loves him, Rachael loves him and the kid loves him. Most importantly, the judges love him and his food is delicious to boot!

Lisa's Couscous

By far the most complex personality in the competition, one never knows which Lisa will show up and whether we want to love her or hate her. No one has tried harder or invested so much emotional capital in her individual segments. Lisa the elitist shows up tonight and the judges nail her on bullying the kid to make dishes that she never even heard of, such as couscous. When on set with Ms. Ray, Lisa is obviously overwhelmed and intimidated by the affable Rachael Ray and shuts down emotionally. Ray rescues the segment but wll it be enough to rescue Lisa?

Shane's Vicarious Journey

Her name was Francesca. A real cutie, but Shane didn't notice. In fact he forgets her name in the only moment during the 4 minute segment he didn't ignore her. Shane admits he isn't comfortable around kids which is ironic because at 19, he is the closest to their age than any of his fellow contestants. At the end of the show, the judges probe his heart. Why is he so enamored with French cuisine? As it turns out, it has been through only what he has read and studied in culinary school. He's never actually lived it or even visited France. It's all one vicarious mirage. And although he has proven himself in the kitchen on most episodes, it has in the end been a technical achievement at best. The passion itself is absent and it costs him dearly.

Shane is sent packing. And all along I thought he had the inside track to getting his own show. In the end his somewhat arrogant declaration "I will not be derailed by a 10 year old" came back to bite him in the rear. He will not be accompanying his fellow finalists to the big Vegas showdown with Paula Dean next time. It's now anybody's game.

AS THE NUKE TURNS

Been awhile for everything, including an update on Luke and Noah's relationship. Well, the boys have been on the outs ever since the Colonel dove into the Atlantic, presumably drowned. This is a soap, people. No body, no death. Noah's dad will resurface, mark my words.

Anyway, Noah blames Luke because the naïve young man thought he was just about to talk his old man in surrendering to the authorities when Luke arrived with the police. Ameera left the show, giving Nuke her blessing. But Noah wants some space.

1980's icon Cyndi Lauper pops in last Thursday for an appearance and Luke interviews her for the college newspaper. He tells the LGBT advocate of his own situation and is understandably crestfallen when Noah walks in with another guy.

Lauper reads the situation and strives to encourage Luke and dedicates her song "True Colors" to him. Watch it here. Noah is visibly affected and the break-up is history. All right, now the guys can get together, right? Not so fast Kowalski, it seems Noah is joining the Army!

SPOILER ALERT

After Holden tells his son to go find Noah, Luke walks into the recruitment office and when asked who he is, our sandy haired hero replies "I'm his boyfriend."

They ask, he tells!

HIV rates are up!!

By David Brown
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 27, 2008; A14

The number of young homosexual men being newly diagnosed with HIV infection is rising by 12 percent a year, with the steepest upward trend in young black men, according to a new report.

The double-digit increase in young gay men is about 10 times higher than in the homosexual community overall, where the number of new infections is going up about 1.5 percent a year.

The report, released yesterday by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, appears to confirm impressions that a "second-wave" AIDS epidemic is underway in gay America.

"These men represent a new generation that has not been personally affected by AIDS in the same way that their older peers were," said Richard Wolitski, acting director of HIV-AIDS prevention at CDC.

The new data cover 33 states. Whether they reflect the entire country is unknown, although the states include New York, Florida, New Jersey and Texas, all of which have large numbers of HIV-infected people.

The study found that homosexual men were the only risk group in which the number of new infections rose annually from 2001 through 2006. (Epidemiologists prefer the term "men who have sex with men," or MSM, because many of them do not identify themselves as homosexual or gay In contrast, injecting-drug users, homosexual men who injected drugs, and heterosexuals each showed declines in new infections over that period.

In the 13-to-24-year-old group, the average annual increase was 12 percent, compared with a 1 percent decline in 25-to-44-year-olds, and a 3 percent rise in gay men 45 and older.

In the youngest age bracket, the yearly rise averaged 8 percent among Hispanics, 9 percent among whites and 15 percent among blacks.

Previous studies have found that gay black men on average have fewer sex partners, are less likely to use drugs and are no more likely to have unprotected intercourse than gay white men. Consequently, their higher rate of infection does not appear to arise from riskier behavior.

Instead, it reflects the higher prevalence of HIV -- as well as syphilis and gonorrhea, which increase a person's susceptibility to HIV -- in the black population.

"When you see a 15 percent yearly increase, that is an epidemic that is out of control," said Phill Wilson, head of the Black AIDS Institute in Los Angeles. "And yet we don't see a response that recognizes it is an epidemic out of control."

Ron Simmons, president of Us Helping Us, an AIDS service organization for gay black men, said the revolution in antiretroviral therapy in the last decade appears to have lessened the fear of HIV infection.

"I can remember going to a funeral every four or five days. Now, if you talk to some of these young men, they say, 'If I do get infected, I will simply take the blue pill or the pink pill, like my friend,' " he said.

A study published online last month in the American Journal of Public Health showed that prevention messages tailored for gay black men can work.

Researchers recruited "opinion leaders" in the gay communities of three cities in North Carolina. The people were trained to talk to their peers not only about ways to protect themselves from HIV but also about other issues, such as homophobia in some black churches and racism.

A year later, the frequency of unprotected high-risk intercourse was down 30 percent in the three gay communities, and the number or people who said they always used condoms was up a similar amount.

The CDC is providing the strategy, called "d-UP!" -- slang for defend yourself -- to 200 organizations around the country later this year.

Limited computer time this week. My mom who is from Indiana is due in shortly. On Friday I fly to Houston for the weekend.

Have a great week everyone and try to keep cool. It's hot and muggy here in PA.

GO CUBS!

Jim McKay was one of the most respected and admired persons in sport and is perhaps most remembered for anchoring the Olympics, particularly the 1972 games in Munich when terrorists killed 11 Israeli athletes. He was 86.

WGN America - formerly known as the Superstation out of Chicago, has helped to create more Cub fans than Philip K. Wrigley ever dreamed of by broadcasting over 100 games every year on a national stage.

Then WGN embraced the WB and the games got limited considerably.

Now, the station has a golden opportunity to reach out again and create millions of fans but instead of baseball in an ivy-covered ballpark, the venue is the decade which arguably produced the best sitcoms - the 1970's.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Welcome Back Kotter, Barney Miller, Taxi and WKRP in Cincinnati form the basis for Outa Sight Retro Night or something to that effect. Because of this TW and I got to see Hash, the hilarious episode of Barney Miller when the fellas from the 12 th Precinct accidentally got high on hashish-laced brownies. (note the look of horror on Capt. Miller's face as Nick Yemana sings in his altered state as Harris continues to "make a pig of himself").

And I am really giddy over WKRP as Les and the gang get crazy in the Queen City. On tap, Turkey's Away! As well as an episode where a funeral home franchise hires the gang to write snappy jingles to increase business.

"As God is my witness...."

Thank you, WGN America! Perhaps you will run the entire syndicated line of these and other series in due time.

LEADERQUEST

Will Obama remain on top in November?

Well, well, finally the Democrats have a winner. History was made this week when Illinois Senator Barack Hussein Obama won enough delegates to represent his party in the general election in November. The first African American to hold such an honor, he will face Arizona SenatorJohn Sidney McCain, the choice of the Republicans.

So where does this leave New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton? Will she be Obama's running mate? If not, how hard will she campaign for Obama?

Phase one is over. Phase two has just begun.

With a recent nine game winning streak under its belt (spoiled last night by Greg Maddux and the Padres), the Chicago Cubs are flying high with the best record in all of baseball but still not getting the respect by the media they deserve. Every night I check into Baseball Tonite and Sportscenter on ESPN and what do I see? Red Sox, Yankees, Mets. And once in awhile they will throw the Cubs a bone. Every year I get so aggrivated at the east coasst bias, even Mike and Mike (TW's second favorite show behind Bones) defend their slanted coverage by saying they talk about what the public talks about. Memo to both Mikes: People talk about what you talk about.

Exhibit A - Everyone from ESPN drooled over the outrageous Manny Ramirez instead of Ken Griffey Jr. who quietly goes about his business every day. And yet, Manny's pursuit of 500 home runs completely dominated coverage. Anyone notice that Griffey is one away from 600? Does ESPN cut into programming when Griffey comes to the plate like they did with Manny? I doubt it.

House (spoilers, David)

Finally saw the gripping two-part season finale. I wanted to cry, it was so sad. Will Amber's death drive a wedge between House and Wilson? Will Wilson blame House for Amber being on the bus? You know why I loved this plotline. It featured my 10 of hearts, Robert Sean Leonard. Well played, producers. The only part I didn't like was that House himself never made it to Amber's bedside while she was awake. Only in his mind altered state did he have to face up to his demons.

Because it's the right thing to do.

This post is dedicated to two close friends who are in pain right now - the pain that comes when you cannot be with the one you love. Miles and Joey, here is how I envision your recent time together. Hope these all turn out.

I know you spent time at the beach.

And shared a mid-afternoon siesta in the park.

At the end of the day, there was the perfect sunset.

And some day, who knows............?

tv.com

Had a friend tweak my twink banner and since Jon was really verklempt over the other banner's assortment of cards not really making sense, we now feature an undeniable winning hand - a royal flush! Since Eric Millegan has joined the group, I changed my avatar to the scorching Cubs logo. Hope it doesn't bring the boys in Cubby Blue bad luck. I'd hate to be the new Bartman, after all.

Here's a twofer! Down Under there's a 20 year old platform diver who is favored to take gold this summer and he just came out in a newspaper interview. I'll be cheering for the good ol USA but my eye will also be on Mr. Matthew Mitcham.

The gold medal hopeful's journey has not been easy. Those close to him have seen Mitcham, 20, battle depression, retire in his teenage years after physical and emotional burn-out, then nine months later resume his sport and build himself into the champion he is today.

One person who has been by his side for the entire tumultuous journey is his partner, Lachlan.

Months out from the Games, Mitcham has taken the courageous step of revealing his sexuality to the media for the first time, in an exclusive interview with the Herald. He has also applied for a grant through a Johnson & Johnson Athlete Family Support Program to have Lachlan near him in Beijing.

"We can't afford for Lachlan to go at the moment," Mitcham said. "But Johnson & Johnson offer grants to go to Beijing and I've nominated Lachlan as the support person I want to go."

WEll, Matthew, all we can say is......

As The Nuke Turns

Over the weekend the boys celebrated their first anniversary of when they first laid eyes on each other. And Jake Silbermann (Noah) celebrated his 25th birthday yesterday.

Happy Birthday, Jake!

Even those who aren't asking or telling