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On CSI: NY tonight, about half-way through the episode, one of the character's cellphones starts ringing. It's playing Coldplay's new single "Talk" and we know that because the character tells this to the other actor in the scene, joking that it's (talking, we assume) something his girlfriend is good at. The scene ends, cut to commercial, and "you too can get Coldplay's Talk, the song you just heard on tonight's CSI: NY" downloaded to your cellphone! As blatant commercial tie-in's go, this one's gotta take the cake. Well, until 10 minutes later in the episode, when they use the same song as the background to one of the big reveal moments in the episode. And, once again, once the scene's over and the show goes to commercial, we get told how we can get Talk on our cellphone. Dani pointed out that it's the only way advertisers can get their messages out, since people are TIVOing right past the commercials now. And I remember read...

I’ve always been fascinated by this word. Film and SF critics seem to constantly refer to "tropes," but finding a definition that actually addresses that usage has eluded me. Websters' "a word or expression used in a figurative sense," for instance, is virtually useless. This Wordsmith.Org "definition" helps a little bit: The word tropism is related to trope, the term for rhetorical devices such as metaphor and irony. The idea is that the words in those rhetorical devices are turned in a special way. But I finally had to delve into Wikipedia to find a definition that really helps here: In literature, a trope is a familiar and repeated symbol, meme , style, character or thing that permeates a particular type of literature. They are usually tied heavily to genre. For example, tropes in horror literature and film include the mad scientist or a dark and stormy night. Tropes can also be plots or events, such as the science fiction trope of an alien invas...

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I just heard the DJ on KROQ talking about the Verve's song " Bitter Sweet Symphony ." I didn't know this, but apparently they sampled a Rolling Stones song for this track, which led to a long court battle with the Stones—one which the Verve eventually lost. So every time that song plays, it's the Rolling Stones that get the royalty check, and not the Verve. I'm pretty sure this was their only really BIG hit, so could truer words have ever been applied to a song title?  

I had to rent a truck this weekend and, while I was standing in line, I saw this product that's supposed to help you lift heavy items. The slogan on the product was "virtually makes your load seem lighter." Later in the day, I heard an ad for Target where they urged you to visit their "virtual website." Now, if we go with the colloquial definition of virtual, the product slogan is either simply redundant (it almost makes your load give the impression of being lighter?) or an outright contradiction, depending on how you see it. As for the website… well it's either a website or it isn't. I'm pretty sure there's nothing virtual about it. And if they're somehow pushing some virtual reality content (the probable reason "virtual" is now a buzzword), then that's some pretty ambitious content for a discount department store website. I'm not sure HOW virtual became such a buzzword, but I'm pretty sure this is the wrong word fo...

Angry Moms Boycott Eatery That Asks Kids To Keep Quiet I used to work in a restaurant in Irvine, and lost count of the number of times parents would come into the restaurant, ask for tables separate from their children and proceed to ignore them as they misbehaved and acted out, under the apparent assumption that it was someone else's job (presumably the waiter's) to mind their children for them. Maybe because I was raised to respect others, I don't find it terribly offensive to expect other people (and their children) to have a little respect in return. (It's called " socialization " people, and its one of the things that differentiates us from animals.) And I don't find much to complain about in asking kids to "use their indoor voices" in an indoor environment, especially one that might cater to MORE than kids. I may have to start patronizing A Taste of Heaven. God, I hate people these days.  

I have greeted the results of every election since at least the 2000 Presidential elections with a mixture of horror and contempt, so it was a refreshing feeling today to listen to the news and hear results I actually wanted to hear. The good news? In California, all 8 of the abominable initiatives in our special election got defeated, many of them by some pretty impressive margins . (For an interesting look at the results, click on the "map" link after each of those propositions to see how each county voted. It's really interesting when you get down to Prop's 78, 79 & 80.) The Governor's plans got repudiated and his popularity is at an all time low. (Yes, I most definitely consider that good news.) Outside of California, 2 states elected Democratic Governors, Maine rejected a bid to reverse their gay rights legislation, and all eight members of the Pennsylvania School Board that introduced the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to evolution i...

Bush Declares: 'We Do Not Torture' So if we don't torture, why all the effort to oppose a Senate ban on torture? I'm just asking, you know?

I've been hearing the buzz for months on Jarhead , with every movie preview and feature story on the movie pounding the Oscar buzz drumbeat. I'm not a big fan of military/war themed films, so my reaction so far has been a resounding "yeah, whatever." Then I saw the teaser trailer for the movie a couple of weeks ago. I've been complaining for a while now about bad movie trailers (my pet peeve: the "tell the whole story" trailer that leaves me wondering why I should bother seeing the movie. In most cases, I find I shouldn't.) But this one does it all right… just enough story to establish setting, striking visuals, and a hip-hop background track that drives the whole thing. I honestly found myself wanting to see this film, simply because of that trailer. If the movie's half as good as the trailer (and, judging by the reviews , that's sounds about right) it just might be worth checking out.