I'm kind of mesmerized by Criss Angel. He's definitely one freaky guy -- or is that mindfreaky? -- and every time I surf by him, I have to back up and watch whatever unbelievable, death-defying stunt he's performing. For one thing, he looks like a vampire. But a very polite vampire. I can see how all the female stars fall in love with him.

I got involved in a Criss Angel Mindfreak marathon not too long ago, and am still stumped as to how he does those levitations, his signature magic trick. I'm not kidding, he took an entire room of people and levitated them, some in bizarre positions that could never be done, even if the person was wide awake and as flexible as an Olympic gymnast.

We're talking backward bends, leaning to the point of toppling over and, of course, 20 feet off the ground. Someone tell me how he does that?!! I'm such a sucker for magic tricks.

Julia will have her review of the new HBO series John From Cincinnati when it premieres after the Sopranos finale on June 10, but San Francisco Chronicle critic Tim Goodman has seen the first three episodes, and he's not impressed. In fact, he's depressed.

Goodman says that the heads of fans of David Milch's other show, Deadwood, will "explode" when they see this, that they would get rid of Deadwood just to air this show. He won't have his full review 'til Sunday, but on his blog, Goodman says that HBO made "a total blunder" and that the show is just "a total mess." Wow, I guess we'll have to wait for his full review to find out what he really thinks.

As I said yesterday, I'm going to give it a shot. I mean, the previews are just so bizarre that you have to check it out.