It's kind of a cliche at this point to lament the loss of once venerable institutions of televised knowledge such as The History Channel and The Learning Channel to the scourge of "reality" TV.

As we noted last week, the highly anticipated Twilight franchise appears to be far steamier and sexier than the books’ tween fans may have expected. And a profile on the film in yesterday’s LAT suggests the series’ author Stephenie Meyer may be just as surprised. Described by the article's author as "chaste," the…