The second half of the AfterEllen.com AfterNoon at Dinah last week was a hilarious train wreck — or "cluster screw" as our host Michelle Paradise politely called it — of comedy improv starring several of the AfterEllen.com vloggers: Cathy DeBuono, Jill Bennett, Marnie Alton, Karman Kregloe, Dara Nai, and Bridget McManus.

Dee and Jenn (Come With Me If You Want to Live) joined Lori and I as judges, using criteria Dara came up with — so you know it's slightly off-kilter.

Highlights of the event? Too many to mention, but here are a few of my favorites: Michelle getting heckled for accidentally picking on a woman with a broken toe; Karman and Cathy flirting in Santa's workshop; Bridget and Marnie's adventures in Amsterdam's red light district; and Jill taking orders from Dara in a barn. Then there's Karman and Dara's rendition of A Sound of Music...well, you'll just have to watch for yourself and tell me what your favorite moments / lines / scenes are. Check it out now here:

Thanks to Michelle for graciously agreeing to host, and to the rest of the vloggers for participating. It was a lot of fun to watch live — hopefully it will translate on-screen!

(And in case you missed it, also check out the AfterEllen.com AfterNoon stand-up performances at Dinah, our Dinah red carpet interviews , and Julie Goldman's Dinah stand-up routine from Logo's Comedy Cocktail Hour.)

Cats are better than dogs.

OK, I'm not really talking about Catwoman. But I wanted to deflect the ire of dog-lovin' lesbians long enough to let me make a point. And I do have one.

Yes, another gratuitous picture. You're welcome.

Personally, I love dogs and cats equally. I have cats because, well, I'm lazy. But a recent University of Minnesota study suggests that people with cats are less likely to die of cardiovascular disease than people without cats. Dog owners had the same rate of stroke and heart attack as non-owners. Of course, I already knew that my cats help reduce stress, especially when I'm working at home. I mean, this is what I see when I'm blogging.

One theory about the results has to do with the nature of cats — they are lap animals that want to be petted. When the owner pets the cat, down goes the stress. I would have to balance that with another aspect of the feline nature: a fondness for attacking toes when the owner is asleep. And the fact that a kitty's favorite place to sleep is on whatever part of the bed is highest at a given moment and, if its position is threatened, it will hang on with extended claws. In other words, sex can be, well, a pain in the butt. Literally. (This is, unfortunately, not just theory.)

Still, we love our kitties. Witness the popularity of Lolcats. … continue reading

Bridget lies down with Exes & Ohs creator and star Michelle Paradise. The old friends reminisce about improv training, marathon running and how to be a cheerleader. (Bridget really is bendy.)

Baby Bridget is back from her honeymoon in Vegas, but where's her new bride?

Learn more about Michelle Paradise at michelleparadise.com and at MySpace.com/michelleparadise1.

A few months ago, Michelle Paradise asked you to submit your best and worst dating stories — and did you ever! There are over a hundred hilariously bad date stories, and Michelle gathered together four of your favorite women — Marnie Alton, Dara Nai, Karman Kregloe and Jill Bennett — to re-enact some of the best ones, with Lori and I "directing" (which in this case, meant zooming the camera in and out, refreshing their drinks, and trying to keep the cats out of the frame).

As you can guess from the photo, much chaos ensued. Some of my favorite moments? Marnie as a "hot RN," Dara as a cop who can't get her handcuffs off her belt buckle, Michelle moonwalking, Karman's puppet love, and Jill overdosing on pharmaceuticals while on a dinner date.

They also award a fantastic prize to one of you unsuspecting AftereEllen.com readers who submitted a story. I don't want to give away the surprise, but you impatient types who want to know what the prize is now can click here. (To find out if you won, you'll just have to watch the vlog!)

The final vlog was pretty long — almost an hour and a half — but since it was too funny to cut out much, I just split it into two videos. And I figure this will keep you busy while AfterEllen.com is on a break next week.

So grab a cup of coffee/can of soda/glass of wine applejuice, sit back, and prepare to be entertained! … continue reading

Michelle Paradise's final episode of her Exes & Ohs vlog is shot on the streets of San Francisco, where she first came up with the idea for the show.

In this vlog, Michelle answers questions like:

• will there be a second season of Exes & Ohs
• why her character's name was changed from Jennifer Baker to Jennifer Butler
• whether she has any hidden talents

She also wants to know what the "less than 3" symbol that keeps appearing in the comments means (she's referring to <3). I love that her guesses are breasts or a CIA code... … continue reading

Michelle Paradise is back and bravely vlogging with a cold about the sixth and final episode of the first season of Exes & Ohs.

In this episode, Michelle gives an update on the status of the worst date/best date stories vlog, talks about a commercial she shot last week in a bathing suit, shows off her new Beever Cafe t-shirt (now available to order), and dubs herself the queen of non-sequiters.

And she answers questions about whether her belly button is really pierced, how to see bloopers, and if Sam's parents were modeled after Dick and Lynn Cheney.

For added fun while watching the vlog, you can drink a shot of something every time Michelle says "1-900-porn-now" or mentions her shirt being too tight (not that I'm complaining about either!)

And if you watch the first few moments carefully, you'll catch a glimpse of her famous yawning cat... … continue reading

I asked Logo's Ashley Kaplan (whom I like to call the Shane of the Logo offices) to bring a camera to the Power Premiere last weekend and interview the lesbian celebrities and lesbian celebrity icons for AfterEllen.com, and she kindly obliged, despite knowing almost nothing about most of these women since she doesn't watch much TV.

In this fun video she put together for us, we learn things like:

• What Guin Turner's working on now
• Michelle Paradise's favorite lesbian moment of '07 (besides launching her show)
• Thea Gill's favorite scene on Queer as Folk
• Why Daniela Sea identified with Jo on The Facts of Life
• Renee O'Connor's new TV show gig in 2008
• Why Mandy Musgrave loves the lesbian community
• Jill Bennett's first crush

Watch it now here! … continue reading

Costar Marnie Alton joins Michelle Paradise to discuss episode 5 of Exes & Ohs and heckle Michelle's neighbors, who keep walking by while they're trying to film this vlog (hence the reason it's broken into four parts).

In between dodging noisy neighbors, they answer your questions, discuss Marnie's side career as a singer/songwriter, and in keeping with the trend of making Michelle say things in other languages, they both answer a question in French (but sadly, it's to explain why they can't film the next season in Paris).

Also, Michelle makes Marnie attempt the Xena call. Watch it now! … continue reading