I have two words to say regarding the 7/26 and 7/28 episodes of ONE LIFE TO LIVE: Hot Stuff. For months, I've been raving in the magazine and on this blog about the potential of a John and Blair hookup. Unfortunately, I was stuck waiting for a flight out of L.A. when the long-awaited love scenes aired AND the cable went out in our Digest offices, so imagine my disappointment when I discovered my recording of Monday's episode was all static! But of course, JoBlair fans had already posted the scenes in a montage on YouTube.com.

Greetings, readers! Hope you're getting over this hump day okay! I'll be taking a break from blogging next week as I take a romantic jaunt down the California coast with my "longtime love," as we say in soaps. But before I go, I want to thank those readers who've created such an online buzz about my recent feature Q&A with real-life ONE LIFE TO LIVE BFFs Bree Williamson (Jessica) and BethAnn Bonner (Talia)! For those of you who characterized it as "bizarre," I'd like to state that the point of the Q&A was to put the tape recorder on the table and just let these girls be themselves, which is fun, infectiously silly and unapologetically outgoing.

I think both soap fans and journalists would agree that talking to ONE LIFE TO LIVE's John-Paul Lavoisier (Rex) and Robert S. Woods (Bo) in one day is a very good day. I interviewed them yesterday for an upcoming news story on the time-travel storyline that'll be a major summer story arc, and it's always fun to talk to these guys because they have great "asides."

The other day I received an e-mail from a reader who was quite upset with the results of a recent Digest snap poll that appeared in the 7/1/08 issue. The question was: Who is the right guy for GH's Maxie? And the results were as follows: Dr. Matt Hunter (50%), Spinelli (45%) and Johnny (5%). Ironically, this person admitted to voting more than once for Spinelli and then complained that the voting system is clearly skewed because there's no way Spinelli could be outvoted. Huh?

I've said it before and I'll say it again — wouldn't Blair and John make a smokin' couple on ONE LIFE TO LIVE? Watching yesterday's scenes between them at La Boulaie, when John came by to discuss the teens (and was more up on the gossip than she was!), reminded me what a nice friendship they have developed. John isn't the type to go around opening up to anyone, but he seems to really connect with and trust Blair.

If this was kindergarten and it was 12:30, it'd be naptime. But instead it's time for YAWN, I mean, YOUNG AND RESTLESS! I know we've said it before but I'm saying it again: Why oh why do TPTB at Y&R think we want to watch a show about business? ONE LIFE TO LIVE, for one, has done a terrific job of showing how the passing of oil tycoon Asa Buchanan affected the family business, which was ultimately taken right out from under the Buchanans by devious Dorian. OLTL told that story in a perfectly soapy way, not wasting any of its allotted 35 or so minutes a day (when you factor in commercials) on in-depth discussions of PRODUCT PACKAGING. It is one thing to tell a dramatic story involving the perils of owning a family business, but Y&R has taken the boring business talk to the Nth degree. Anytime I see Victor and Adam sitting around in that dim office wearing their drab suits, I have to do a little dance in my chair just to get the blood flowing. Here's an example from yesterday's episode:

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the ONE LIFE TO LIVE 40th Anniversary Tribute at the Paley Center with Digest's Stephanie Sloane and Weekly's Gabby Winkel. To our delight, the event kicked off with a reel of clips old and new, from a 1985 location shoot in Venice to the various musical appearances from over the years (I even caught a glimpse of myself dancing at the Timbaland performance!).

I miss GREY'S ANATOMY, don't you? As annoying as Meredith and Cristina (oh, yeah, AND Izzie) are, I just love me some Patrick Dempsey (Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd). I even went to see Made of Honor, and while most rom-coms make me cringe, Dempsey totally made it rule. As a believer in All Things Derek, I found myself getting really invested in his and Meredith's clinical trial this past season on GREY'S and was fascinated by the various effects a brain tumor can have on a person.

Talk about old home week in Llanview! I just got off the phone with Andrea Evans to discuss her upcoming return as OLTL's Tina. And before that, I spoke with Susan Haskell about returning to the role of Marty! Could you imagine? I grew up in awe of those two powerhouses and it is just the strangest thing to hear their voices on the other line.

Did you hear? May is Better Hearing and Speech Month. I didn't know that either until Kassie DePaiva (Blair, OLTL) mentioned that she and hubby James (ex-Max) were embarking on a whirlwind tour of hearing-related events this month, including a photo exhibit last night to benefit the Clarke School-New York. As many fans know, their son, J.Q., has a cochlear implant, so he made the cutest speech about the services the Clarke School has provided him and other hearing-impaired children.