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Today is NY Daily News gossip columnist Lloyd Grove's second day on the job. Mr. Grove is plugging away, seemingly unfazed by the typo in his name on the New York Times website. (The typo has remained uncorrected in cyberspace since Saturday.)

Yesterday, we gave Mr. Grove a needs-improvement rating: we saw the potential but didn't love the dish. Today Mr. Gove flexes his muscles:

Item One: Kelly Ripa squirts vinegar into Regis Philbin's eye. As Laura Dern says at the end of Blue Velvet: "My dream, my dream!" It's a little weak and a little corporate as a lead item, but still: Lloyd knows we all fantasize about blinding Regis, and that fantasy is hot.

Item Two: Excerpts from a Bush-Cheney Republican FAQ for New York fundraisers answers crucial questions such as "Can I use my personal aircraft for campaign business?" (I don't know, can you?) and "Can I use my executive assistant to help with my fund-raising activities?" Gorgeous. Love it.

Item Three: Britney Spears at lunch with her choreographer. Yes, I turned up my nose a little too, but? The item includes: what she was wearing, what they ate, how they ate it, how security guards dealt with fans, and, best of all, how much she tipped. All that is doubleplusgood.

Item Four: A good Harvey Weinstein quote about wanting to be Ethel Merman. Oh wait: that's Harvey Fierstein. Well, it's funny anyway, I guess.

In conclusion: we like this trajectory. Lowdown with Lloyd is looking up... for now.