Nooooooooooooooo!

I blame myself. I start off a blog with a crush on a reality TV contestant, and the next week she's eliminated, breaking my little heart. You got robbed, Lia. Robbed, I say. In her exit interview she seemed to take it in stride. Still, I just want to hug her. Bye, Lia! Your cuteness will not be forgotten (nor your elimination forgiven) by this "Top Chef" fan.

I suppose I should find someone else to root for. Since I grew up in Dallas, I'll put my money on Tre and Lia's pal Casey. They're both making interesting food, and they seem like good people. Not nearly as cute, though.

The patron saint: Simone Lahbib

In life, sometimes a person will cross your path and everything changes. Or, in my case, that person will flicker across my TV screen. Hey, I never claimed I wasn't a loser. I think this blog pretty much takes care of that. Anyway, for me, the world has been spinning on a slightly different axis since I first laid eyes (and ears) on Simone Lahbib.

Lahbib was the star of the British show Bad Girls for its first three seasons. I was way late to the party on this show, which is stunning considering that it is set in a women's prison and featured a prominent lesbian storyline. Probably the most prominent, long-running lesbian storyline of any TV show outside of The L Word. Don't ask me how I missed out on all that -- I'm pleading clueless Yank -- but I'm on it now. Boy, am I on it.

Although I kicked off the blog with someone else, Lahbib was the true inspiration. The heart, soul, and sweaty palms of it. She is all a lesbo TV fan could ask for: drop-dead gorgeous (look at those lips!), a terrific actor, makes out with her hot female co-star very convincingly -- like, burning-up-the-screen convincingly. Then there's the Scottish brogue. Lord God almighty, the brogue. I could do an entire entry just on the brogue. I probably will at some point.

Which brings me around to why I'm making her the patron saint of this blog, for it desperately needs one. 1.) Simone Lahbib is hotter than hell. 2.) She was one half of my favorite TV lesbian pairing ever. 3.) Elevating her to sainthood means I can write about her repeatedly. Yay! 4.) Did I mention all the hot?

Cuteness, thy name is Lia Bardeen

I consider myself a reasonably intelligent person, but I am not ashamed to admit that I love me some reality TV. Yes, a lot of it is crap, but it can be compelling crap. And some of it is quite good. Top Chef has quickly become one of my all-time favorites. Part of it is because most of the chefs don't seem to aspire to being professional reality TV famewhores, they aspire to being well-known and respected chefs. I am not a foodie (or even a half-decent cook, for that matter), but I really enjoy watching these people cook gourmet dishes under crazy constraints. And sometimes, they say things to each other like, "It's obvious you're a tool and a douchebag," and "I'm not your bitch, bitch." Awesome. Plus, this season there are a few really attractive women among the cheftestants, so I'm kicking off the blog with one of them. Why start with someone super-famous? Everyone knows Katherine Heigl's hot.

As soon as I saw Lia, a 27-year-old executive sous chef at Jean Georges in Manhattan, I knew I was in trouble. She has a lovely face, a terrific smile and perpetually flushed cheeks, which I am a total sucker for. Following the first episode, in which she came off as a little bit shy and sweet, it became clear in the next couple of episodes that she has an edge about her, and is witty, smart and takes no shit. Combine that with the cuteness, and it was all over for me. Well played, Lia.

It only got worse this week, when Lia a) wore crazy-cute ponytails in the kitchen, b) won the elimination challenge with a drool-worthy dish involving shrimp and avocado, and c) proceeded to be adorably thrilled with her victory (scroll down a bit at BloggingTopChef and check out the .gif; I don't want to steal it). Then, I just read an interview on BloggingTopChef in which she says she loves literature, was a nerd in high school, once shaved her head, and that when it comes to music, "it's almost never the wrong time for Dolly Parton." Are you trying to kill me, Lia? Jesus. Either marry me now or stop being so cute.

Welcome to the world, baby blog!

Is anyone really starting new blogs in 2007? Apparently so. Really, I have been at least six or seven years behind everyone else since, I don’t know, puberty. But I intend to make up for it now with this blog, which I’m sure no one will find amusing except me. And perhaps my friend Mechelle. And weird dudes who google keywords like “lesbian socks bubble-yum.”

Anyway, my name is Amanda and my aim is to celebrate the many, many hot, cute and/or sexy women of television. Namely, Hot Women Who Play Lesbians, Hot Women Whose Characters Should Be Lesbians But Aren’t, Hot Women Who Are (or Might Be) Lesbians, Hot Women I Desperately Wish Were Lesbians and Women Who Are Just Plain Hot. Whatever category they fall into, all of them need to be my girlfriend, tout de suite.