Today's diversion: the dramatic interpretation of a real conversation from a seventh grader's Facebook. more ›

Second place Democrat Senate candidate Cheryle Jackson made like the Chicago Bulls and dumped her campaign manager last week on Christmas Eve. Campaign Manager Rodney Shelton was replaced by Deputy Campaign Manager Lisa Hargrove. "It's just an internal move," campaign spokesman Bob Kettlewell said of the personnel change. And while Jackson is the bridesmaid to Alexi Giannoulias's bridezilla, her campaign hasn't generated nearly the excitement that former City of Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman's candidacy has. more ›

I'm very concerned about the depiction of women on the screen. It's related to their being either high- or low-class concubines, and the only question is when or where they will go to bed, and with whom or how many. There's nothing to do with the dreams of women, or of woman as the dream, nothing to do with the quirky part of her, the wonder of her. I'm sure we could have made a much more successful film if A Woman Under the Influence had depicted Mabel's life as being rougher, more brutal; if it made statements so that people could definitely take sides. But along the way, I'd have to look at myself and say, "Yes, we were successful in creating another horror in the world." I don't know anyone who has had such a terrible time that she doesn't smile ever, that she doesn't have time to love, open her eyes, think about the details of life. Something [wonderful] happens all the time, even at the height of tragedy. I wanted to show that too.

After a waaaay too long delay, the Switches debut album Lay Down The Law is finally available in the U.S. Their song "Drama Queen" ensnared us last year with it's stomping glam beat, sneering Dandy Warhols-esque verses, and it's over the top Queen-sized chorus. The rest of the album took the promise of that original salvo and decimated our expectations in the best possible way. more ›