DANCING WITH THE STAR - FIRST NIGHT

J. R. Martinez is now my official pick to win the competition because (a) he is a wonderful dancer already in the first week and (b) he is clearly a beautiful human being. That smile of his is the most incredible testament to the man's quality as a human being and in all other ways.

Following closely in my view is the effervescent Carson Daly who brings a sense of outright fun to the proceedings, David Arquette who is surprisingly good and to my astonishment - Rob Kardashian who - if he can just forget his nightmare of a family is sitting there watching and judging him - will do very, very well. One thing the Kardashian kids are good at is hard work. I wouldn't count out Rikki Lake either. Surprisingly good work from that quarter.

UPDATE: Well, Ron Artest is gone - which surprised me. Elisabetta Canalis survived until next week, as did Chaz Bono who kind of surprised me!