I’d like to start off this post by apologizing for my absence last week; I was not home for the live broadcast of The Hills and when I returned I found out that my DVR didn’t record it. Because it was recording a rerun of The Real Housewives of Atlanta. That I had already seen…twice. Embarassing, I know.

But one thing I am not sorry about is the fact that I got to catch last week’s episode tonight and it was like Pop Up Video! Seriously, I am not sure I can ever watch the show live again. The pop up comments from viewers make the whole thing so much more entertaining!

Although, last night’s ep. didn’t need any witty comments from college girls to entertain me. The drama was out in full force when the cool kids decided to pack up Doug’s jet and head to Cabo for the weekend. Why Cabo? Well, obviously they needed to get away from cold and dreary L.A. to find sand, a swimming pool and endless amounts of alcohol!

Unforch, the beautiful scenery did nothing for Justin Bobby and Audrina’s “relationship.” (Looks like getting nakey in the pool last week didn’t help much either.) After the boys do a little homo-erotic hot tubbing where JB finds out about Audrina’s other boy toy, Justin Bobby decides that he is finally free, yada, yada, yada, and something about a Hall Pass.

He just kept talking about this Hall Pass. Am I the only one who doesn’t get what that is?

What I do get is that Justin Bobby is just like every other D-Bag on the show. He is not the pensive, thoughtful, deep and mature dude MTV wanted us all to believe this season. He is an insecure L.A. boy who can’t seem to grow up, even if he is showering these days.

And as long as we are talking about people that we really hate and would do anything to see dead, let’s move back to L.A. for the scandalous dinner between Steph’s new BF (who somehow already knows all the Cabo boys) and Spencer, an uncanny look-alike for Harry from Harry and the Hendersons.

I know what it is like to be cranky when A) people show up really late, and B) I have very little food in my system, but I don’t believe that any of those reasons justify Spencer’s behavior at dinner. Or in life, in general.

There is nothing more to say about him because I have said it all – week after week – but I just couldn’t help but (literally) SCREAM at the TV when he had the audacity to talk to Steph about loyalty towards her family. He did just force Heidi to kick her sister out, right? He did tear Heidi away from her family to be with him, right? Ok. That’s what I thought.

Poor Stephanie finally found a guy who was willing to go out with her (and who must have been late because it took him 40 minutes to find an old t-shirt and a ratty hoodie to wear) and her lame ass brother is going to ruin it for her.

Poor girl can’t get a break. Except, of course, for making friends with LC and getting onto this show where she makes like $10,000 an episode.

And, finally, did anyone else have issues with the fact that the song from the new Nano commercial was playing during the ep? I was seriously waiting for Steph and Heidi to poop paint.

No? Just me?

Apple released a brand new iPod on Tuesday and while the rest of the nation was captivated by all the pretty colors and the new gizmo’s shake-to-shuffle feature, I was a little busy geeking out about the other announcement: iTunes 8.

Unlike previous incarnations, iTunes 8 is shaking up the application for the first time in years, this time with the introduction of a better visualizer, a new way to peruse your library and a handy little feature called Genius.

Apple developed Genius to effectively change the way we browse our media. It uses a smarty-pants algorithm to scan and analyze all the music in your iTunes library. The first time you fire it up, (you’ll need an Apple account to get started, by the way) Genius scours the dark corners of the internet for all of your album art.

Once its done scanning, Genius is set to go to work. When you select a song, iTunes creates a 25, 50, 75 or 100 track playlist based on that song’s genre, speed, and general mood. It’s essentially Pandora with all of your own stuff. It’s a fun tool for making a quick work-out playlist, getting ready for a party, or discovering just how much of your music sounds a lot like “Brick” by Ben Folds Five. Or, if you have thousands of songs in your library, it’s is a great way to re-introduce yourself to old favorites.

And since Apple wouldn’t be Apple without trying to sell you something, there’s Genius Sidebar, which suggests other artists or songs you should pick up from the iTunes Store.

Don’t listen to music on the computer anymore? Genius is also available on-the-go on all of the new iPods. Badass!

So try it out and let me know what you think. If you make an awesome playlist based on “Brick,” let’s talk.

[Photo courtesy of pcmag.com]

Those of you who are runners should definitely keep your eyes peeled for Nike’s new iPod compatible N+ sneakers. The current N+ sneakers allow you to track your run— time, distance, and calories burned—with your iPod nano. Myself, I don’t think I’ll ever be that into my run. All I need is the pride for actually getting out there.

The details of what exactly is happening are vague. But the President and Chief Executive of Nike says the products will be out some time this year.

Already on the market is the Nike+ Sports Kit. The “kit” contains a chip which slips into a small pocket in your shoe and sends information to your iPod nano. There are already 21 shoes available with this technology. Prices range from $74.99- $110.00.

Who knows how the new shoes will improve on the available technology. I can’t imagine needing to anything more than tracking distance, and calories, but Apple continues to dream up new, cool stuff.