CLICK THE FALSIE: Congress passes Patriot Act, nation yawns. Harper's: At least 65 dogs in the President's security detail were put up at a five-star hotel in New Delhi; hotel staff were told to address the dogs as "sergeant" or "major." Torture continues, nation yawns. Barron's calls for … [Read more...]

GLOBS FOR INDUSTRY! One of my favorite critics, Gerald Early, has a NYTimes blog: My daughters do respect [Ali's] stance against the draft, but only in the light that Ali was a more honest and sincere draft dodger than Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and others. He couldn’t duck into … [Read more...]

FOG: IT'S WHAT'S FOR BREAKFAST If you missed Bleak House , watch for repeats or rent, you'll believe Gillian Anderson as Lady Dedlock, but you'll get totally lost in Anna Maxwell Smith's Esther. LIKEWISE Huffman deserves a lot of raves, but the script is inconsistent. Go to see Kevin Zegers, … [Read more...]

Digg has David Thomson on this year's nominees, and the real stumper is HISTORY OF VIOLENCE... … [Read more...]

So go nuts: "Modern communication isn't about truth, it's about a resonant narrative," says Eric Dezenhall, a former Reagan administration aide and now president of his own crisis management firm. "The myth of PR is that you will educate and inform people. No. The public wants to be told in a story … [Read more...]

GRABS FROM AZ, BUT STILL Album Art , almost after the fact... CLICK THE FALSIE: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke admitted that conservatives are lying... That's right, in his testimony to the House Financial Services Committee, Bernanke had an exchange with Independent Congressman Bernie … [Read more...]

FEB 21-28 So go nuts. … [Read more...]

EDITOR'S DESK Does nobody want to CONTEXTUALISE the fact that LIBBY FLIPPED ON HIS BOSS last week, who then went out drinking and shooting his hunting buddies...? Nice to know Cheney's running this war. … [Read more...]

COULD LISTEN TO HIM ALL DAY Between Charlie Rose quizzing Diane Keaton about Warren Beatty (how long have they NOT been a couple? and would Rose EVER bring up Keaton with Beatty?) to John Tierney in today's NYT you'd think we'd never even gone through the ERA fight, or just spent some quality time … [Read more...]

KIDS THESE DAYS Have a lot more time for this typa thing: bloggregate, which poses a curious distinction from the "pros" on Pazz and Jop. (Here's a cool movie list.) EMAIL EAVESDROP Well when I was 15 I snookered my Mom into letting me spend my couple hundred dollars of savings on a new stereo, … [Read more...]

YEAR OF NO CONCENSUS Just out, OUTRAGED that Chris Brokaw got only TWO ballots, and it's a third my fault. Lots to sniff here... Don't forget Filmoculous ("let's get lost...") TOOLS: AJAX Newsalloy SHIELD Didn't you sense Forest Whitaker ITCHING to give Chicklis a stick of gum last week? … [Read more...]

LOBBYIST REFORMATION John Ashcroft Has a Come to Jesus Moment WORLD ON A STRING DARK SIDE OF THE RAINBOW When I was a distracted campus layabout, we had more creative ideas than this, which has faded into the collective unconscious ether like that magic marker CD trick. Some of these were … [Read more...]

From "Goodbye Terry Gross, we never knew ye—on liberal media denial" by Joe Bageant, in the Online Journal: As Helen Caldicott recently put it: “What’s to become of us? Ask any experienced mental health practitioner what happens to a person who constructs and tries to maintain a life based on denial … [Read more...]

CLICK THE FALSIE: Did you know Sylvie Simmons has a whole page of interviews posted, and claims metal men are more respectful of women then "garden-variety" rockers? Wasn't that the joke in BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE...? KPFA has a pretty ROBUST podcast page Is this really Sylvie … [Read more...]

REVIEWS OF THE MONTH From Ed Condran in Giantmag.com (Beckensale issue, page 98): PLEDGE THIS! (2005) It's the female ANIMAL HOUSE starring Paris Hilton. I'm the professor of sexology and I'm obsessed with paris. She did very well considering that she's not an actor and not of this planet. I think … [Read more...]