1. One of my all-time favorite Fresno TV pitchmen, Dan Gamel (third only to OttmarThomasofToyotaVisalia, and Al Radka of Oberti Olives), is in the news today for turning the trees on his RV lot into limbless nubby stumps in order to keep them from scratching the motorhomes. Looks kind of like the "Joshua Tree" album, but with more asphalt. (Bee)

2. While I don't find this as egregious as, say, Nickelback ripping off its own material, Nuclear Beef today documents the shocking similarities between The Flaming Lips song "Fight Test" and the Cat Stevens classic, "Father and Son." Give them a listen. (Beef also includes the Johnny Cash/Fiona Apple version, which makes me wonder when she's gonna finally get her album done… but I digress.)

3. For those of you who still haven't discovered that celebrity and fashion magazines are full of shit, check out this lesson in retouching photos. While the first rule of prepping any celeb photo is "whiten the eyes/whiten the teeth" -- pay special attention to the amount of work done on her bellybutton.

4. Wal-Mart world-domination strategy #24,598: Take Over Inglewood. (NYT)

5. Read the blog of Karen Hall, a writer for CBS's "Judging Amy" who, along with the rest of her coworkers, was recently fired from the show. I can't say I watched it (ain't my demo anyway), but I find it bizarre when a long-running show just up and decides to can its entire writing staff. (Hall, by the way, started her career on "M*A*S*H.") Hollywood's a tough joint.

6. Things, however, could be worse. You could be Antonio Sabato Jr. getting his ass kicked. (Gawker)