Television Hosts

Phil Keoghan, he of the arched eyebrow and host of Emmy Award-winning "The Amazing Race," is a self-acknowledged creature of extremes. For his day job, the 41-year-old New Zealand native logs more than 400,000 air miles per year, mostly as he crisscrosses the globe with the CBS show's $1-million prize and adventure-hungry contestants. But that's nothing really.

WE'RE on a first-name basis with them: Tyra is fierce, and Ty wipes tears even as he swings a hammer. Their accessories are iconic: Howie's got models with briefcases, and Jeff presides over fifth-graders. And then there are those signature lines: Padma doles a gentle blow ("Please pack your knives and go"), while Heidi's kiss-off is less than sweet ("You're out."

WE'RE on a first-name basis with them: Tyra is fierce, and Ty wipes tears even as he swings a hammer. Their accessories are iconic: Howie's got models with briefcases, and Jeff presides over fifth-graders. And then there are those signature lines: Padma doles a gentle blow ("Please pack your knives and go"), while Heidi's kiss-off is less than sweet ("You're out."

WE'RE on a first-name basis with them: Tyra is fierce, and Ty wipes tears even as he swings a hammer. Their accessories are iconic: Howie's got models with briefcases, and Jeff presides over fifth-graders. And then there are those signature lines: Padma doles a gentle blow ("Please pack your knives and go"), while Heidi's kiss-off is less than sweet ("You're out."

WE'RE on a first-name basis with them: Tyra is fierce, and Ty wipes tears even as he swings a hammer. Their accessories are iconic: Howie's got models with briefcases, and Jeff presides over fifth-graders. And then there are those signature lines: Padma doles a gentle blow ("Please pack your knives and go"), while Heidi's kiss-off is less than sweet ("You're out."

Like many Mexican American kids growing up in L.A. in the '90s, singer Yolanda Perez idolized the local narco-corrido king Chalino Sanchez. She was about to turn 9 in 1992 when Sanchez was kidnapped and executed after a concert in Sinaloa, like a character out of one of his folk ballads about drug dealers and their exploits. Today, Perez refuses to record narco-corridos, a style regarded as a path to stardom in Mexican country music.

A lovely teenager named Courtney Chou Lee wore the crown and rode down Colorado Boulevard. But for many people who watched at home Thursday, the real queen of the 120th Rose Parade was the 65-year-old with the brilliant red hair and the relentless smile who described the pageant from high above the parade route.

Television network executives looking for new talent are accustomed to getting pleas from agents urging them to check out their clients. But in the last few weeks, MSNBC has experienced a different kind of onslaught: a flood of unsolicited endorsements from fans of liberal radio hosts touting them as the network's next potential big star. The grass-roots campaigns were triggered by the news that the cable channel is contemplating creating a new show for its 7 p.m.

Whoever believes there is nothing to fear but fear itself has never wet his pants onstage. It's an experience Hugh Jackman is hoping not to repeat when he hosts the 81st Academy Awards tonight, although a case of nerves is understandable: Along with producers Bill Condon and Laurence Mark, Jackman's been tapped to add pep and popularity to a show suffering from steadily declining ratings.

What makes consumption so easy is its focus on what makes it to the shelf; capitalism's byproducts are hidden away, necessary consequences best left unseen. Mike Rowe, who hosts the Discovery Channel immersion show "Dirty Jobs" (9 p.m.