Interviews - Kiefer

"24: The Musical"? I'd like that.

Cheney - The deadliest prey of all ... man

Dick Cheney has finally crossed that line between everyday villainy and cartoonish super-villainy, by "accidentally" shooting a 78-year-old man during a hunting trip. In the words of a (clearly Texan) bystander, the victim, Harry Whittington got "peppered pretty good", suffering shotgun injuries to the cheek, neck and chest, but is said to be "doing fine" in hospital (luckily for ol' Harry, the medical team that is on constant standby to keep Cheney alive, was able to treat him on the scene).

According to Wikipedia:

This is the second documented instance that an American has shot another person while holding the office of Vice President. The only other time this has happened was the Hamilton-Burr duel over 200 years ago.

Technology - Apple mystery

I haven't quite put all the pieces together yet, but this image and the patent application it's attached to seem to indicate that Apple may be releasing a touch sensitive device of some sort soon.

Soft Sciences - Procrastination

After reading this article, my two questions were "what is cognitive behavioral therapy?" and "where do I get some?".

In Pictures - Caption competition time

Technology - Pee-mail

I think that searching questions regarding lifestyle and career choices need to be asked of oneself, when one feels compelled to install touchscreens and phones in the john (aren't there some serious hygiene issues as well?)

Entertainment - Pete D'oherty's Prison Diary

in the Guardian today.

Health - Oh boy oh boy oh boy!

I hope that a prescription of this comes free on the NHS someday.

Entertainment - Monsieur Brent

That man we love is in the news again, although this time only passively - the French have made their own version of The Office.

Crimtertainment - The whole CSI treatment

Well I guess that people do learn something from TV, after all.

In Pictures - Abu Hamza

I am not utterly convinced that this was the correct look to go for when you're facing legal proceedings.

Entertainment - Scarlett Nudehansson (and Kiera too)

Oh boy oh boy oh boy!

Mew Enemy #1 - Show cross-over here we come

... because Gervais & Merchant have been asked to write an episode of the US Office, which has been recommissioned for a 3rd season.

Mew Enemy #1 - Don't feed the ego

He's a world record holder now.

Music - Stringed shenanigans

A pleasing mix of skill, music and pop culture.

Entertainment - The Book of Daniel

While the gang was in Munich, we came across a true media gem that was brought to our attention by a Conan O'Brien skit. I'll say no more and let the show website's own description and promo shots tell the story:

A provocative, edgy and compelling new drama, "The Book of Daniel" stars Emmy nominee Aidan Quinn as the Rev. Daniel Webster,

an unconventional Episcopalian priest who not only believes in Jesus – he actually sees him and discusses life with him.

Webster is challenged on many levels as he struggles to be a good husband, father and minister, while navigating an often rocky relationship with the church hierarchy, led by Bishop Beatrice Congreve and Roger Paxton, a senior warden of the parish and stalwart churchgoer.

Webster also has loving, but challenging relationships with his three children: Peter, his 23-year-old gay son, struggling with the loss of his twin brother;

his 16-year-old daughter Grace, a talented Manga artist dealing with typical teenage angst;

and Adam, his 16-year-old adopted Chinese son, a handsome and cocky high school jock with a wicked sense of humor.

Keeping Webster grounded is his strong, loving wife Judith

– who is also coming to terms with the loss of her son and her own future and ambitions now that her children are nearly grown – and Jesus, his best friend and confidante who serves as a sounding board and encourages Webster to find the answers to his questions within himself.

On top of all this, the family's household includes an African-American doobie smoking grandma, although I'm yet to ascertain her role in the proceedings...

NBC's Book of Daniel website features full episodes each week for your streaming pleasure, and the Conan sketch that exposed all this can be found here.

Politics - He's a sexy boy

Bad news for Gordon Brown:

Russell Crowe [...] has lost out to David Cameron in a vote on the world's 100 sexiest men. Mr Cameron was 92nd in the poll, just ahead of You're Beautiful singer James Blunt and Hollywood star Crowe. He was the only politician to feature in the top 100, chosen by more than 10,000 New Woman magazine readers. Deputy editor Cath Rapley said Mr Cameron was "young, dashing" and promising things for the future.

Entertainment - The Elton Show

I suppose that it was only a matter of time before somebody turned Elton John into a sitcom:

Actor Anthony Stewart Head, formerly of WB series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," has landed the lead in "Him & Us," ABC's comedy pilot inspired by the life of Elton John.

The project revolves around an over-the-hill gay rock star and his relationship with his long-time manager and the rest of his colourful entourage.

Music - The family guy

Many topics were raised over the recent Mewnich '06 weekend, the Mew's inaugural symposium (attended by myself, Savs and Ricky M); one of these was the question of whether great creativity and family life are mutually exclusive. So, perhaps picking up on signals pulsing through the indie ether, Thom Radiohead weighed in on the issue in his recent blog post:

we ar e having to shake the dust off. no more bullshit.
stop answering the phones and thinking of excuses to leave the building.
instead get on with it.
jonny said today that since we were last radiohead, between us, we've had six children or rather our partners have, this may perhaps have something to do with our lack of focus.
but as this rock n roll we aint supposed to discuss this.. deny it every happened etc. what bullshit.

Politics - La la la i'm not listening

More psychology studies to mull over:

Democrats and Republicans alike are adept at making decisions without letting the facts get in the way, a new study shows.

[...]The test subjects on both sides of the political aisle reached totally biased conclusions by ignoring information that could not rationally be discounted, Westen and his colleagues say.

Then, with their minds made up, brain activity ceased in the areas that deal with negative emotions such as disgust. But activity spiked in the circuits involved in reward, a response similar to what addicts experience when they get a fix, Westen explained.

The study points to a total lack of reason in political decision-making.
"None of the circuits involved in conscious reasoning were particularly engaged," Westen said. "Essentially, it appears as if partisans twirl the cognitive kaleidoscope until they get the conclusions they want, and then they get massively reinforced for it, with the elimination of negative emotional states and activation of positive ones."

[...]Notably absent were any increases in activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain most associated with reasoning.

[...]The brain imaging revealed a consistent pattern. Both Republicans and Democrats consistently denied obvious contradictions for their own candidate but detected contradictions in the opposing candidate.

I wonder how much this affects us, and the people that we respect.