QUOTE: "Though there was no explicit sex scene on last night’s episode [of Gossip Girl], the CW Network’s behavior was grossly irresponsible by adding a storyline where a sexual threesome was to be celebrated as some sort of ’rite of passage’ for teenagers. The network inserted this storyline into a program that they themselves deem to be appropriate for 14-year-old children based on its content rating."

—Parents Television Council president Tim Winter, on the controversial Nov. 9 episode of Gossip Girl

QUOTE: "Everything about Glee is balls-to-the-wall camp: the ridiculous story lines, the bright pastels, the b‑‑chy-pants dialogue. It sometimes makes me wonder if this is the gayest thing I’ve ever seen on TV. … The best joke on Glee is the way it creates a gay teenage world in which no other world exists or is imaginable. It’s not just feel-good gay, it’s punish-the-outside-world gay, openly hostile to the idea some viewers out there might not be show-tune queens. … The most surprising part is that Glee goes out of its way to avoid being uplifting or conciliatory toward the casual viewer. There’s no attempt to say, ’Hey, America, give us a try and you might like us.’ The attitude is more like, ’We are the monster you created, America, and now you shall taste our vengeance.’ … Every episode of Glee seethes with hostility under all the toe-tapping and finger-snapping."

—Rolling Stone reviewer Rob Sheffield, in his article "Gayest. Show. Ever."

QUOTE: "It is the enduring image of its ever-expanding diversity that makes Sesame Street most distinctive. … For all its virtues, what is perhaps most important is that no matter how strange one may be, everyone and anyone was and is always welcome on Sesame Street. Everyone belongs and even the Yip-yip aliens are ’one of us.’"

—The Grio contributor Charlton McIlwain, as Sesame Street celebrated its 40th birthday. The groundbreaking PBS kids show debuted on Nov. 10, 1969.

QUOTE: "Sesame Street’s media savviness developed in service of its traditional educational goals rather than the other way around: It taught lessons using settings that were familiar to its audience, and what’s more familiar to an audience of TV-watching kids than TV? So from roving reporter Kermit to Guy Smiley to the various game show, drama and commercial parodies it’s done over the years, Sesame has used the language of TV to reach and teach. But I like to think that, in some small way, Sesame also taught kids to be smarter media consumers, and that this was as valuable a service as teaching the alphabet. By spoofing TV, the show didn’t just captivate kids; it also taught by example that a news show or an entertainment show has its own rules and conventions—it taught kids that shows are shows, performed by people for cameras, and not reality."

—Time television critic James Poniewozik

The "fakeosphere"—fake blogs or "flogs," bogus news sites and contrived testimonials—is the latest advertising scam to hit the Internet. Marketer and Internet analyst Jay Weintraub believes it’s a $500 million-a-year industry, with top flog campaigns making thousands of sales daily. He says, "I don’t think people realize how big this has become, and how quickly." Federal Trade Commission advertising bureau chief Mary Engle says of the fraud, "Advertising always has to be clear that it’s advertising. An ad disguised as a blog, or a blog where companies get people to pose as satisfied customers and write reviews, both are deceptive."

Pinup vampire Edward Cullen drives a Volvo. That means the car company will get some enviable product placement in The Twilight Saga: New Moon. But the relationship between the undead hero and his über-safe ride raised some questions for slate.com. "Aren’t vampires basically immortal?" writer Seth Stevenson asks. "Volvo’s central brand attribute is safety, which makes it an odd choice for a driver who can’t die." He couldn’t quite imagine Twilight’s tween fans flocking to car dealerships—equipped with $40,000 of allowance money—to buy one, either. Turns out, though, the match makes sense—and not just because Cullen drives a Volvo in the books, too. Volvo believes the film will appeal to a broader audience than just tween girls. And even if it doesn’t, the car company knows how persuasive tween girls can be in how families spend their money. "As for Edward," concludes Stevenson, "it turns out he drives a Volvo not for himself but to safeguard human friends who ride in the passenger seats. So his character is nurturing and protective, yet also sleek and sexy. Those are exactly the qualities that Volvo hopes consumers with associate with its cars."

QUOTE: "I think there’s a catharsis, the same as a roller coaster ride. You want the thrill of destruction without actually being in it. When you go to see a movie like this, it’s giving voice to your worst fears. It’s like running around on Halloween and celebrating ghouls and mayhem. I don’t know what it is in us, but we definitely want to come close to that edge. But if it were reality, we’d all be weeping all day."

—actor John Cusack, on the appeal of his new apocalyptic movie 2012. The latest end-of-the-world epic from director Roland Emmerich (The Day After Tomorrow, Godzilla, Independence Day) took in a whopping $65 million in its opening weekend.

Taylor Swift ruled at this year’s Country Music Awards. The 19-year-old singer took home awards in four major categories, beating out country heavyweights Kenny Chesney (who’s won top honors four of the last five years), Brad Paisley, George Strait, Keith Urban, Reba McEntire, Martina McBride, Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert. She is the first female solo act in a decade and the youngest performer ever to be named Entertainer of the Year. Another history-making winner was Darius Rucker. The 43-year-old former frontman for Hootie & The Blowfish was the first black performer to be named New Artist of the Year.