Simon Cowell smiled and even blushed a little on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” when asked about his possible engagement

Simon Cowell scowling — typical. Simon Cowell blushing? Indeed.

The famously cantankerous “American Idol” judge squirmed in his seat on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” on Monday as the host dissected reports of Cowell’s engagement to Idol makeup artist Mezhgan Hussainy.

“Are rumors you’re engaged true?” Leno asked. Cowell took a moment and responded carefully, “Are they true? Well, I do have somebody in my life now, Jay, yes. And I kinda made a decision this year to make somebody happy.”

As the audience cheered, Leno asked about the huge ring Hussainy has been sporting on her left hand.

“I thought she broke her arm,” Leno joked. Cowell responded, “It’s quite a big one, yes.”

When Leno called Cowell out for turning red, Cowell confessed, “I am blushing.” Leno asked, “Where did you, or may have, gotten engaged?” Cowell said, “I find this very uncomfortable. I was asleep, I think. No, look, I bought her the ring in London.”

Later, Leno spotted Hussainy, 36, in the audience and invited her to come on stage to join Cowell, 50. The pair looked giddy and comfortable with each other, said a witness.

As Cowell and Leno joked about what role, if any, Leno would have in Cowell’s future wedding — Cowell suggested Leno could be a flower girl — Cowell said that he would want a wedding “in the next 10 years” and on the subject of having children, added, “I’m kind of torn because I’m a bit too old to have kids, but then again I think it would be important to have a lot of me’s around in the future.”

The “In Memoriam” section has become an awards show staple: tasteful music played under images of the past year’s notable dearly departed in that particular industry.

There will always be disagreements over the length of the piece, who rated highest on the “death-meter” with the most applause, the music (I’m a huge James Taylor fan, but I heard from people who thought his rendition of “In My Life” was inappropriate or otherwise off) … and most of all, who is included and who is left out.

This year, the last strains of James’ guitar were still lingering and the Oscar telecast had barely gone to commercial when I started hearing from friends: “Where was Farrah Fawcett?”

I replayed mental tape, and sure enough, while many of the other major celebs who passed away last year - many during the “Summer of Death” – made the Oscar show’s cut, Fawcett was nowhere to be seen.  Natasha Richardson, Dom DeLuise, David Carradine, Karl Malden, Patrick Swayze (yes, he was there right at the beginning of the montage), and Brittany Murphy, but no sign of Farrah’s signature blonde mane and dazzling smile.

The Academy’s reaction to the avalanche of criticism that followed was predictable, and reasonable: they can’t include everybody.

That said, presumably there are standards to determine who makes the cut and who doesn’t.  Obviously, fame is one of those criteria.  On the other hand, the Oscar death roll always includes executives, writers, directors, and other less-famous folk who had significant film industry roles, so obviously there’s a balance to be struck.  For instance, Bea Arthur did almost exclusively television, with just a few movie credits in her six-decade career, so it made sense that the Emmys saluted her last fall, but the Oscars did not.

That brings us to (deep breath … bracing for hate mail from his fans …) Michael Jackson.  His death last June, just a few hours after Fawcett’s, overshadowed hers in the news, and now it seems it’s happened again.  Yes, Farrah was known largely for “Charlie’s Angels” and such TV movies as “The Burning Bed,” but she was in plenty of movies, including “Dr. T. and the Women,” “The Apostle,” “Man of the House,” “See You In The Morning,” “Extremities,” “The Cannonball Run,” “Saturn 3″ and “Logan’s Run.”  Okay, maybe some of those films were better candidates for the Razzies than the Oscars, but let’s consider Jackson’s big-screen credits: “The Wiz,” “This Is It,” and… um… that “Men in Black II” cameo.  Suddenly, Farrah’s list looks a lot better.

Film critic Roger Ebert tweeted that he felt the snub was “a major fail” by the Academy and that they have “a whole lot of splaining to do.”

There’s an old Latin phrase (I know, I know: there aren’t many new Latin phrases): de mortuis nil nisi bonum - speak no ill of the dead.  However, they didn’t say anything about arguing over the dead.  Have at it: what did you think of Michael’s inclusion, Farrah’s exclusion, and the entire concept?

Welcome back Bauerites: Let’s get right to it. The day continues, and the latest hour of “24″ is in the books.

I’ve been hopeful for the momentum to continue onward and upward. No more setbacks. No more costly deductions of “cool points” with dumb subplots. Well Bauerites, the latest episode gave us a bumpy, dramatic ride as Jack and the CTU team are officially rolling. Each remaining episode of “24″ is now all set to thrill us right through until the end of the season. Mark it down.

As I recall, in seasons past, there have been the same types of highs and lows we’re seeing this season. There have been some quirks, extremely hate-able characters, and irritating storylines here and there. This season is no different. The writers have had their moments, and the legions of Bauerites on this blog have not hesitated to give them the business. Collectively, we grew antsy and impatient, but the last three episodes have renewed my optimism.

How do I know? How am I so certain?

By my count, I tallied three different “Hell yeah, Jack!” moments in last night’s show as I yelled back at the TV (don’t judge). Three is a pretty high number, and Jack’s promise to “personally escort Marcos’ mom to the blast site to expose her to the radiation” is my favorite brand of harsh threat that tastes great as I’m watching. Say it with me people, “Hell yeah Jack!”

Meanwhile, while we’re checking the stats, it also took about seven minutes from the start of the show for Hastings to earn even MORE of my respect! His sermon to Dana and Cole upon their return to CTU didn’t necessarily feature fire and brimstone, but I actually believed he was pissed, and the look on his face when he saw them entering the building was priceless. Hastings has been chock full of “man up” for almost a full three hours now, and I’m also granting him a few bonus points for ordering Dana to take orders from Chloe. You da’ man!

Elsewhere, President Hassan, his daughter and estranged wife are certainly a gleeful bunch. Is it just me, or is his storyline a ray of sunshine that beams down directly to the furthest depths of hell? It’s official sir: you are having a bad day, and you have every right to be suspicious of any and every one. Arrest them all, and let them explain themselves behind bars. At least that way, they can’t try to kill you, take calls on their cell phones from other people they order to kill you, attempt to overthrow your regime, or kidnap your daughter. All bases are covered.

Overall, I thought the show was steady and enjoyable. Another sign of good things to come was a downright dandy preview of next week’s episode. The “plot thickening” is an understatement from what I saw, and I’m already psyched. Yes, that’s a prediction, and I’m making it. We shall not be disappointed.

By the way Bauerites, if you can’t get enough of “24″ and “going Bauer” around your home or office like I have recently, be sure to check out the “2 guys talking 24″ podcast each week. These guys provide great insight, hilarious commentary and invited me on recently. It was big fun, and thanks a lot to the 2 guys. They’re available here and on iTunes.

Got it? Copy that.

Loved, kinda liked, or hated this week’s show? Let us know!

The history of stunt-casting on “How I Met Your Mother” is a mixed one - with Britney Spears delivering a bad performance in one of the series’ best episodes (and a better performance in a later episode), Enrique Iglesias’ pretty memorable turn (as opposed to Mandy Moore’s), and Carrie Underwood upstaged by a teacup pig just last week.

On Monday night, we had Jennifer Lopez as the author of a book for single women, not unlike “The Rules,” who refuses to be Barney’s one-night stand… or even 16-night stand. This time, the guest shot worked: it moved the plot forward without distracting from it. At the end of the day, this show is about Ted, Robin, Marshall, Lily and Barney (and not really, by the way, about how Ted me the mother). One big flaw this season was how quickly Robin and Barney’s relationship ended and was forgotten. Well, now, thankfully, this episode addressed that, when Robin, using J. Lo’s author character Anita to get her revenge on Barney, once again relapsed into her “mourning period” - which, of course, involved going to the shooting range.

I really liked that they went back and revisited some moments from this season, a few of which originally came across as odd, and showed how Robin was really having trouble getting over Barney. Her breaking point was Barney’s “super-date” with Anita, an idea concocted by Ted, in a delightful musical sequence every bit as good as the one in the 100th episode.

Meanwhile, Robin finally planned to go out with her co-anchor Don, thanks to no small amount of prodding by Marshall - he even accepted the date posing as Robin.

Now, no one really wants to see Barney grow and become a “better person” completely. But at the same time, he can’t be completely heartless. Once the gang pointed out to Barney how much of a jackass he had been to Robin, even knocking Barney’s Stormtrooper head off of its body in the process, he made it up to her in the most selfless way possible, by letting her go on a “super-date” with Don. It was the kind of moment that “HIMYM” does so well - sweet without being schmaltzy.

How do you think J. Lo did? Did you like how they wrapped up the aftermath of Robin and Barney? Do you find yourself hearing “Bang, Bang, Bangity-Bang” running on a loop in your head? Share your thoughts on video or in the comments below.

Was is just me, or did George Clooney seem upset at the Oscars last night?

His sourpuss act in the front row almost made me miss Jack Nicholson smirking in his dark sunglasses. And George’s lady, Elisabetta Canalis, wasn’t looking too chipper either — those two had “Debbie Downer” written all over their faces.

Sure, George played nice for two seconds on the red carpet, but once he got inside … forget it. What the heck does he have to be so pissed about? Here are our best guesses.

1. George is over it. He’s happy where his career is and this whole Oscar business is too much of a pretense for him to even pretend to enjoy it anymore.

2. Elisabetta told George she was pregnant just moments before their Oscar limo arrived.

3. He knew he wasn’t going to beat Jeff Bridges, plain and simple. Sure, he has an Oscar for best supporting actor, but he wants the big boy. He resented wasting 14 hours of his time for a loss?

4. George hated his floppy, gray hairdo and couldn’t stop thinking about it long enough to have a good time.

5. George wanted to go stag, but his publicists forced him to take Elisabetta to help him shed his swinging bachelor image.

6. He was wearing Spanx to hide recent weight gain. He wasn’t unhappy — just uncomfortable.

7. He likes to ride his motorcycle on Sundays, and his whole routine got thrown off.

8. Like any man, George hates seeing all of his ex-girlfriends in the same room at the same time.

9. He was trying to tone down his enthusiasm so as not to make Elisabetta feel bad that she didn’t get nominated for her role in “Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo.”

10. George and Elisabetta got their Botox injections too close to the big night. They wanted to smile, but just couldn’t.

11. Some starlet accidentally stabbed his toe with her stiletto while walking down the red carpet.