Scarlett Johansson, Keira Knightley Pose Naked

Scarlett Johansson, Keira Knightley pose naked for Vanity Fair (AFP) NEW YORK (AFP) -- Two of Tinseltown's brightest young stars, Keira Knightley and Scarlett Johansson, bare all in the latest Vanity Fair, posing nude for the cover of the glossy magazine's annual Hollywood issue. The two actresses were talked into the photo shoot by fashion designer Tom Ford, the former Gucci creative ...

Ironic Headline

Record Sales of Sleeping Pills Are Causing Worries (NY Times) Isn't the exact opposite true as well?

The Academic Meritocracy

A good friend of mine recently found out that he didn't get the tenure-track job he was up for, and was told in confidence that the university's president personally intervened to force the department to hire a woman over my obviously more qualified friend (she's a grad student who hasn't finished her dissertation; he has a top-tier Ph.D., a book ...

The Academic Job Market

Here's another shining example of what some of us face each day: Western State College of Colorado invites applicants for a full-time temporary teaching position in sociology and political science beginning in August of 2006. Teaching responsibilities include courses in sociological theory, criminal justice, and introductory courses in American, comparative and/or international relations. Responsibilities are to teach 12 credits per semester, ...

Inside the Beltway Math

Budget Cuts Pass By a Slim Margin (WaPo; front page, above the fold) The sub-head is a punch line come to life: "Poor, Elderly and Students to Feel Pinch" The House yesterday narrowly approved a contentious budget-cutting package that would save nearly $40 billion over five years by imposing substantial changes on programs including Medicaid, welfare, child support and student lending. With its ...

State of the Union Postmortem

Tonight's State of the Union address was a bit strange on the domestic side, with President Bush somewhat declaring a series of ill-defined "Hopeful Society" programs that protect life, encourage education and innovation, and in general further the greatness of America and American culture. All pretty empty if you ask me, yet fortunately not the bulk of his speech. But ...

No Media Bias?

For those of you who disbelieve the evidence that the mainstream media slants leftward, please explain to me what exactly is being "reported" here: "It's turning into our Vietnam" (USAT) Aaron McGonigal knows all about patriotism and fighting terrorism. He was in the Illinois National Guard on Sept. 11, 2001. Soon after the attacks, he volunteered for active duty in the Army and ...

Dick Clark Returns to TV for New Year

Tonight I watched ABC's coverage of the ball dropping in Times Square, and I have to say that Dick Clark's agent needs to be fired. Whoever let him appear on camera is more concerned with Dick Clark™ than they are about this man as a human being. I have no idea about the state of his health, but ...

A-Rod: Ungrateful Bastard

A-Rod tells Yankees he won't play in World Baseball Classic (AP) NEW YORK (AP) -- Alex Rodriguez told the New York Yankees he won't play in the inaugural World Baseball Classic, just two days after saying he was leaning toward being on the Dominican Republic's team. [...] Baseball officials said at last week's winter meetings that Rodriguez, who last month won his second ...

Shocker: Media Bias Real

Media Bias Is Real, Finds UCLA Political Scientist While the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal is conservative, the newspaper's news pages are liberal, even more liberal than The New York Times. The Drudge Report may have a right-wing reputation, but it leans left. Coverage by public television and radio is conservative compared to the rest of the mainstream media. ...