A special note in my Cool Book today for the protesters in Barnaul, Russia.  People in the Siberian city are protesting corruption in politics, both in the region and at the national level (I know, you say Whaaaat? Government corruption?  In Russia??).   Specifically, they’re protesting the impending switch Vladimir Putin is making from the parliament […]

Moderate publicity is being given to the American Library Association’s announcement of the Youth Media Awards (highlighting the best books, videos or audiobooks for children).  Among them, the Newberry Award went to Jack Gantos’ Dead End In Norvelt, and The Caldecott Medal (for picture books) went to A Ball For Daisy about a dog who […]

The Oscar Nominations came out today, and you know what that means!  That’s right!  It’s time for my annual rant to my film students about the meaningless crassness of the Oscar awards!  Hurray!  And this year, you can share in the crabbiness! I know, they seem fun and harmless, but the thing to understand about […]

I would like to take this moment to offer a sincere, public and redemptive apology for my recent comments.  I in no way meant them.  And while I stand by my assertion that some of them were taken out of context, and others I was tricked in to saying, I regret any hurt they may […]

Mark Wahlberg, the actor best known for being an action star, but in what, exactly, you can never really recall, recently gave an interview in which he explains the tragedy of September 11, 2001. No, not that tragedy.  The tragedy that he wasn’t on one of the planes that day. Seriously.  Wahlberg was, apparently, supposed […]

Today’s edition of 20 Questions features the popular and prolific Brainrants.  If you’re unfamiliar with Brainrants, I think it’d be safe to describe his style as “blunt.”  He posts something every day (which I think is rude, making me feel bad about myself like that) on a huge range of subjects – from food to […]

2011 has ended and the myriad search engines have been releasing year-end round ups of the top Internet searches during the past year.  The results are… well, they don’t speak highly of humanity.   For starters, these lists filter out spam and such, which makes sense, but they also had to not include people looking for […]

Did you know that certain names are illegal?  True story!  There have been numerous instances throughout the world of parents naming their children only to have the courts rule “No, that name sucks.  Try again.”  (a quote from the decision in the case of The State of Idaho vs. QuackyDuck Poopbooger*) *Not true.  Unfortunately. In […]