TOP TEN QUESTIONS FOR MCCAIN'S CAMPAIGN (Letterman, via Kurtzman) 10. "I just contributed to your campaign - how do I get a refund?" 9. "It's Sarah Palin -- does this mean I'm pars'dent?" 8. "Can't you solve this by selling some of your houses?" 7. "This is Clay Aiken. Is McCain single?" 6. "Do you still think the fundamentals of our economy are strong, Genius?" 5. "Are you doing all of this just to get out of going on Letterman?" 4. "What would Matlock do?" 3. "Hillary here -- my schedule is free Friday night." 2. "Is this just an excuse to … [Read more...]

How about Three Strikes You're Out! Cue Paul Krugman on PBS Newshour last night. Or hey, how about: "They didn't NEED to strike our Twin Towers -- they were already ROTTING FROM WITHIN!" Too bad about that collateral damage, huh? VOTE NO BAILOUT … [Read more...]

Best thing yet on Dark Knight, just let me add one thing: a posthumous performance like Ledger's, which already upstages Jack Nicholson, feels beyond tragic: Yet I suspect it is still the news. While both candidates run on the premise that Washington Is Broken, I'm disinclined to disagree, only to add: our good faith with ourselves is broken, too, a cost of silencing or at best mumbling the most crucial truths. Among these, pre-eminently, is the fact that torture evaporates our every rational claim to justice, and will likely be the signature … [Read more...]

Chicago Reader has upgraded its archives, and voila. … [Read more...]

This La Boheme ditty cracks me up, and the lyric translates as "Woe is not for me. Everyday is a joy. I explore, where the air is clear." Diane Lane and Richard "Groundhog" Gere should get their own cable channel.  … [Read more...]

Brown University: three lectures SGT PEPPER (9/16, 4pm, see poster below) FEVER: HOW ROCK TRANSFORMED GENDER (10/30) MUSIC CRITICISM (12/2) Host: Professor Rose Rosengard Subotnik (401) 863-3234 Society for Music Theory November 7 & 8, 2008, Nashville, TN Plenary Session: The Pop Music Catalog Host: Professor Gretchen Horlacher, Indiana University with: Walter Everett (University of Michigan), David Brackett (McGill University) Skidmore College Saturday, November 22, 2008 Host: Professor Gordon R. Thompson, Department of Music 40th Anniversary … [Read more...]

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This week's Republican convention will be full of overt and subliminal references to all of last week's Democratic catchphrases, and the pundits will congratulate themselves on how many they can point out. Expect Rove to write glib rejoinders to Clinton's "example of our power..." line, and watch for a clever spin on Mark Warner's "Four more months..." But what about the soundtrack? The Dems have a lot to answer for, starting with how Michael McDonald's overwrought gospel "America" FOLLOWED Stevie Wonder's uncrunked funk. Here was the measure … [Read more...]