If you watched PBS' Antiques Roadshow last night, you saw the biggest appraisal in the show's history. A woman from North Carolina brought in jade objects that her father brought home from China after World War II. The woman wasn't sure how much they were worth, but the appraisers told her they were worth $710,000 to $1.07 million. Turns out though that she didn't get quite that much when she went to sell them.

Maine Antique Digest reports that the jade objects brought in $494,615 when she sold them at Skinner's in October.

Why didn't the objects bring in as much money as the Antiques Roadshow people thought? It's all explained in the article linked above but too involved to get into here. It involves math.

It's not just American children, immature American adults and Japanese women who love the little yellow guy. It looks like Chinese are big fans of SpongeBob Squarepants as well. Creator Stephen Hillenburg must be kvelling.

The beautiful thing about the show is its ability to cross cultures. SpongeBob is such an overall silly character that he does well in translation. Not bad for a sponge who's been around for 10 years already.

Given that the Chinese will own the United States within a generation (or so I believe), it's good that Hillenburg is already making conciliatory gestures towards his new Chinese overlords with this series. As the rest of us work the salt mines to pay off our massive bailout debt, he (or his heirs) will be churning out new episodes in the comfort of a small, cramped state-run studio.

On an tangential note, I'm still waiting for Nickelodeon to bring back Invader Zim. Still waiting...(sigh).

This particular episode of The Daily Show was super extra Chinese, but you guys get an extra layer of Chinese via this review written by me. That makes you special. The only way to push it even further would be for me to write this completely in Chinese. Consider yourselves lucky that I'm too embarrassed to write like that, as my Chinese vocabulary and syntax reads like that of a five year-old's.

Amid controversy and the threat of certain world leaders boycotting the upcoming Beijing Olympics, the word came out yesterday that President George W. Bush would attend the opening ceremonies. According to the Hollywood Reporter, this is good news for NBC, and the companies that have bought advertising for the Games.

While I can see how a boycott based on human rights abuses in China and Tibet would be a serious problem for the network -- and it still may lose viewers who choose to individually tune out rather than give positive sanction to China's misdeeds by watching -- I don't see how NBC can think a Bush appearance will bolster ratings.

According to Time magazine, there are various organizational problems occurring that could lead to the Olympics not being broadcast on television. A series of unworkable conditions are being created for networks including limits on live coverage in Tiananmen Square and allegations that freight shipments of TV broadcasting equipment are being held up in Chinese ports.

The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing are scheduled to begin on August 8th. According to the minutes of a May 29th meeting, procedures which have been used by broadcasters in other Olympics are conflicting with China's authoritarian government. Some plans are months behind schedule, which could force broadcasters to compromise coverage plans.

Jack Cafferty, aka CNN's Grumpy Old Man, has been known to spout off from time to time and go on rants, but they were nothing more harmful than the news equivalent of "damn kids and their rock music these days." But it looks like one of his ramblings ticked off a couple of people enough that they found some creative lawyers and sued the heck out of Cafferty and his bosses.

According to Reuters, a beautician and a Beijing-based primary schoolteacher are suing Cafferty and CNN $1.3 billion for, the article says, "violating the dignity and reputation of the Chinese people." The lawsuit is being filed in New York. According to one of the suit's lawyers,"The $1.3 billion averages out to $1 per Chinese person, so it isn't much." He apparently said that with a completely straight face.

(S15E10) Now, you can tell this episode of Survivor China is yet another one named for a James saying. He seems to have an Adam and Eve obsession, as well as a fixation on the apple.

I realize he's hungry and I'm not all that sure apples are indigenous to China. He could nibble on some bamboo. After all, that keeps those cool panda bears looking all that fat and healthy.

Maybe I'd call this episode, "We Don't Need No Steenkin' Apples, Give Us Bamboo!" Yeah, that's it.

(S15E9A) And, if you read the title of tonight's Survivor China episode, you know the ending of it -- "It's been real and it's been fun, but it hasn't been really fun." If memory serves, that's how the saying goes. It was very apt for tonight's show, the mid-season repeat clips and previously un-aired bits they think might interest or amuse us.

I toyed with the idea of not reviewing tonight's episode, but there were a few interesting bits and pieces amongst the retreaded clips that I'd like to mention, plus it's a good time for me to reflect back on the season so far. Oh, and CBS is counting this as a new episode, silly network.

(S15E04) "Flavor has never tasted so good. This is the delicatist thing I've ever put in my mouth." - Denise

Hmm ... I believe she was going for a variation of delicacy, but who knows? Unlike some of the castaways, I find this season of Survivor China is stepping up more each week. That is, despite the slaughter of the English language at times, it is.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today: on TV Squad Daily:

• Making our country proud: it's Miss USA vs. Katie Couric.
  
• Simon Cowell's criticism saves lives!
  
• China is cracking down even more on TV content, including banning provocative noises.
  

The video's embedded below, or you can subscribe to this podcast via our feed. Plus, you can also download the file directly.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• Anchorwoman barely had a chance. Who knew America didn't like that kind of thing?
  
• China's government bans reality TV that "lacks artistic standards."
  
• Nicole Richie's 82 minute jail sentence is inspirational, in a way.
  

The video's embedded below, or you can subscribe to this podcast via our feed. Plus, you can also download the file directly.

It's hard to believe, but next month marks the 15th installment of Survivor. This season, they're in China and the producers are getting all literary and stuff. The teams will begin in Shanghai and then go to a Buddhist temple where they will be stripped of all "worldly possessions" except the clothes on their backs. They will split into two teams and be given a copy of Sun Tzu's The Art of War, which will apparently come in handy this season.

Today, CBS introduced the new 16-member cast. You can't tell much about their personalities from the general biographical information given out, but there are a few stand-outs already. For instance, there's a grave digger, a chicken farmer (whose name is 'Chicken'), a Christian talk radio host, a professional wrestler (Ashley Massaro), and a hiking guide from Kalispell, Montana. Okay, that last one is only interesting to me because she comes from my hometown. You can read more about the castaways here.

Survivor: China debuts on CBS at 8 pm on September 20th.

"Great Recall of China": In some not very surprising news, there has been a massive recall of certain toys from China. Lead was discovered in a disturbingly large number of Mattel toys from the country and now everyone's running around, trying to cover themselves. Senior Plaything Analyst John Oliver, wearing a lot of brown, reported from his parents' toy-filled basement to elaborate. That Photoshopped picture of young Oliver made me laugh for an obscenely long time. It was yet another sign that I desperately needed sleep.

I told you not long ago that Wordplay, the documentary about New York Times Crossword editor Will Shortz and his annual crossword competition would air as part of the PBS series Independent Lens on October 16. It turns out it's also the very first documentary of the series' sixth season.

Other documentaries will include An Unreasonable Man, the popular 2006 documentary about presidential candidate and consumer advocate Ralph Nader; Banished, which tells the story of how some small towns expelled their black communities; King Corn, about two college students who grow their own food to challenge big agri-business; Miss Navajo, which centers on a unique Native American beauty pageant; Iron Ladies of Liberia focuses on the first head of state in Africa; Mapping Stem Cell Research: Terra Incognita, about a neurologist trying to find a cure for his paralyzed daughter; and Please Vote for Me, a documentary from China about three eight year old students running for "class monitor."

"Hearing Problems": More fun Alberto Gonzalez stuff, this time involving Joshua Bolten and Harriet Miers as well. Apparently, Mr. Gonzalez has changed his favorite phrase from "I don't recall" to "I can't answer that question". Those slip-ups, including the one about how some of the causes were legitimate, were so huge and awful, I don't understand how Gonzalez can go on. Actually, I can't understand how Jon goes on either. He may be out of the job soon... This Gonzalez nonsense writes itself.