TVSquad

When I posted about George Carlin's death early Monday morning, I made a couple of mistakes, mainly due to a combination of shock and tiredness:

1) I said that Carlin "passed away." Anyone who's listened to Carlin's comedy knows that he hated euphemisms like "he passed away." So, let me correct things right now: George didn't pass away or leave this earth. He died.

2) I really didn't convey how ingenious his comedy was. His observations of even the smallest of human foibles and his examinations of how we use the English language were always among the funniest routines he would do, even funnier than the ones about politics or religion or anything else that happened to chap his ass that year.

I knew about Carlin mostly through his albums, because I didn't have HBO (Occupation: Foole was the first Carlin album I ever heard, and I still think it's the best). But, thanks to HBO and YouTube, I can give you -- in no particular order -- my five favorite Carlin routines ... well, at least the ones that aired on TV:

Since the very first season, The Simpsons have had numerous guest stars. Some have only appeared once, while others have returned again and again. Now, with the eighteenth season recently wrapped up and no end in sight, The Simpsons have had roughly twelve billion guest stars. That number might not be accurate, but I think it's close.

I mention this because our friends at AOL (which owns TV Squad), want to know who your favorite Simpsons guest stars are. If your brain needs a bit of prodding, you can check out this list I made a year ago, but I think my fellow Simpsons fans should be able to come up with a list of actors just fine on their own.

Oh yeah, and AOL also wants to know what your favorite episode of all time is, so be sure to mention that, too.

So, start filling up the comments, folks. The most popular choices will be featured on AOL TV sometime in the near future. We'll keep you posted.

Sure you can sing, but can you play the trombone?

America's Hot Musician, a new reality series set to air in early 2007 through a "coordinated cable network/paid programming schedule,"  is planned as an instrumental version of American Idol (though it has no relation to the show). The American Youth Symphony and its artistic director, Gregory Charles Royal, are behind the show, which was created in response to what some feel is a rise in "sampling" (especially in hip-hop) and a lack of interest in real instrumental performance. Registration for the show kicks off later this month on the show's Web site.