Surprising Things I Recently Learned

• That Sex and the City movie is apparently almost two-and-a-half hours long, for some reason. Did they resurrect Sergio Leone and get him to direct it? And couldn't HBO have diverted some of those resources to making those Deadwood movies?
• Clay Aiken is having a baby? Like, with an actual woman? Are you sure we're talking about the same Clay Aiken? (Oh, it was via artificial insemination. That makes a bit more sense.)
• The perpetually perky psuedo-chef Rachael Ray is evidently an enthusiastic supporter of global jihad. And she seemed like such a nice girl! Actually, after her SXSW showcase featuring Holy Fuck, nothing about Rachael Ray could possibly surprise me.
  

Fun Facts

• NPR heartthrob Ira Glass and composer Philip Glass are cousins.
• The late artist Robert Rauschenberg designed the album cover for the Talking Heads' Speaking in Tongues.

The Easiest Job in the World

When Michael Cera shows up on the set of a movie or TV show, does the costume supervisor do any real work, or do they just fill his dressing room with polo shirts and zip-up hoodies?

Arrested Development


Superbad


Juno


Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

What We Talk About When We Talk About High School

What I've Tasted: Crest Pro-Health Mouthwash

I've got a dentist appointment in a few days, so I've been paying a little more attention than usual to my oral hygiene routine. I've had a lot of bad mouthwash experiences in the past. Every time the good folks at Listerine or Scope unveil a fantastic new flavor, I rush out to try it but only end up reminded that the unpleasant part of gargling experience isn't the taste (except for the yellow stuff; that shit is nasty) so much as the massive amounts of alcohol that burn your mouth within two seconds. So anyway, I was perusing the shelves at CVS when I saw Crest Pro-Health, which was advertised as having no alcohol. Even the name inspired confidence; who isn't pro-health? When I tried it that night, I discovered that it was, in fact, much easier to take than other mouthwashes. The mint flavor was no too strong, and while I did feel a tingle as I swished it around, it was nothing close to the burn I was used to. I spat it out, confident that this was my new go-to mouthwash.

Fifteen seconds later, it felt like I had been rinsing with a capful of pennies.

Seriously, this stuff has such a persistent, bitter aftertaste. The instructions say that you should use it after brushing and flossing, so I'm guessing that the pro-health benefits here are derived from brushing your teeth a second time.

Mommy Isn't One of Those; I've Known Her All These Years

The Women's Army Corps was founded on this day in 1941. On a related note, here's Cheap Trick.

Music Notes

• I think that I'd previously read about this $1,000-a-ticket Bruce Springsteen concert at the Count Basie Theater in New Jersey, but of course I was not going to shell out that kind of cash. It's a good thing I didn't know that he would be playing the entirety of Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town; I might have taken out a loan. Oh, and I love this part of the review: "Proving nothing will please everyone, some schmuck still screamed “Rosalita!” throughout the night."
• I can envision an alternate universe in which I can't stand Los Campesinos! (Do I need a period at the end of that sentence? Someone call Strunk and White!) If you don't like them, I fully understand. I'm glad that I reside in this universe, though, because I think "The International Tweexcore Underground" is pretty damn irresistable:

Lost Rules Everything Around Me

Maybe it's just me, but when I saw this New York Times headline about a little-known "fix-it" organization called BlackRock, it took me a few moments to realize that it probably wasn't some elaborate viral marketing ploy.

I Get All My International News From Music Videos

So apparently Paris is overrun with house-music-loving street gangs.

justice stress (official video)
by 75_prod

Those guys are pretty scary, but everyone knows they're just ripping off the fearsome Daft Punks.

Bad Gift Ideas

Even if Barnes and Noble has it on sale for Mother's Day, I sincerely hope that nobody is actually planning on buying Tell Me You Love Me for Mom next week.

Fun Fact

Barbara Walters has slept with 33% of the African-American Senators to be elected in the modern era.

Now if it turns out that she also had an affair with one of the Reconstruction-era black Senators, that would be something. (Get it? Cause she's old!)