Now that's helpful TV journalism

Thank you, CNN, for filling in all the blanks.

Production geniuses at the network sagely sensed Democratic National Convention viewers were sitting out there wondering:

What percentage of the Democratic delegation do you suppose is made up of gays and lesbians? (Answer: 6 percent, or 240 people, and admit it — you were trying to pick them out.)

What was the first event ever to take place at Denver's Pepsi Center? (Answer: An Oct. 1, 1999, Celine Dion concert.)

Those were among the nuggets CNN rotated incessantly through a screen-bottom fact box throughout the convention. Only problem: They only had about 10 facts, and we knew them all by heart by Monday afternoon.

More on-screen highlights for CNN HD viewers: A handy "Sound on the Floor" decibel meter (it often spiked to the top during sharp intakes of breaths by clergymen during the opening prayer) and a daily agenda informing us what's going to happen four hours ago.

Now that they have us hooked on all this on-screen wisdom, we can hardly wait for part two this week: What percentage of the Republican delegation, we now feel entitled to know, will be made up of gays, lesbians and/or Celine Dion fans?

More screen shots:

Make It An Obamargarita, No Salt: For the convention, CNN set up a broadcast HQ in a Denver restaurant that they dubbed "CNN Grill." Popular menu offerings: Wolf Blitzer Blintzes. Candy Apples Crowley. Campbell Brownies. Larry King Crab Legs. Paul Begalasagna.

Not To Suggest He Lacks Spine, But: If Barack Obama had bent over any farther backward to accommodate the Clintons at the convention, he would have been called for a safety at Invesco Field.

Speaking Of Hillary: Just think: If she and the Big Dog had only shed those cloaks of entitlement six months earlier, she might have been accepting rather than endorsing in Denver.

A Seniority Moment: Sen. John McCain, R-Thritis, after harping for weeks about presidential opponent Obama's "lack of experience," named as his running mate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, R-Ski-Doo, whose most in-depth political experience is in the city government of Wasilla. Apparently the mayor pro-tem of Snoqualmie was unavailable.

Cleanup On Aisle 4: Palin, in an introductory speech, touted her propensity to "reach across the aisle" in Alaska. She later admitted it was only to grab a package of salmon egg-loop leaders at the Wasilla Shop Rite.

How's That Again? Palin reportedly is a member of the anti-abortion group Feminists For Life. She also serves on the National Vegan Beef Council and the Exxon Clean Waters Foundation.

Bad Music Choice: Was it really a good idea for the crowd greeting Palin, one melanoma away from the Oval Office, to sing "Happy Birthday to You" to McCain — especially given that the day in question was in 1936?

Here He Is, Baby: Rumor has it that Wolf (The Drone) Blitzer was boogying down on CNN's set during Stevie Wonder's performance of "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" before the Obama acceptance speech. Somebody please, please, please come forward with the bootleg cellphone video.

Who Was He Kidding? Howard Schultz dropped his inane lawsuit against Clay Bennett and the duplicitous owners of what used to be the Seattle Sonics. Bummer. We were dying to hear that "who-knew-these-guys-from-Oklahoma-would-want-to-move-our-basketball-team-to-Oklahoma?" argument play out in court.

And Finally: Top executives at struggling Starbucks won't get pay raises this year. So that explains those long morning lines at the McDonald's drive-through in West Seattle these days.

A section and Thursday's Northwest Weekend section. Email: rjudd@seattletimes.com