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We’re back. Sorry to John McCain and the Republican Party…

Didn’t mean to offend. Sorry folks.

Which is it, Pop or Soda? The Results are In.

When on a hot summer’s day you buy a carbonated beverage to quench your thirst, how do you order it? Do you ask for a soda, a pop or something else? That question lay at the basis of an article in the Journal of English Linguistics (Soda or Pop?, #24, 1996) and of a map, showing the regional variation in American English of the names given to that type of drink.

The article was written by Luanne von Schneidemesser, PhD in German linguistics and philology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and senior editor of the Dictionary of American Regional English. And although there might be weightier issues in life (or even in linguistics) than the preferred terminology for a can of soft drink, there’s nothing trivial about this part of the beverage industry.

“According to an article last year in the Isthmus, Madison’s weekly newspaper, Americans drink so much of the carbonated beverages sold under such brand names as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Sprite, Mountain Dew, and 7-Up that consumption averages 43 gallons per year for every man, woman, and child in the United States,” Von Schneidemesser begins her article. “The Statistical Abstract of the United States (1994) confirms this: 44.1 gallons per person in 1992, compared to the next most consumed beverages: beer (32.7 gallons), coffee (27.8 gallons), and milk (25.3 gallons).”

- from here

My Name is Earl Creator: Alec Baldwin Is an Idiot

We’ve been following this Alec Baldwin versus My Name Is Earl feud with some interest, but now the mud is being flung so quickly we can barely keep up—so bear with us as we recap Hollywood’s most fascinating catfight:
The 30 Rock star started it all in a New Yorker profile by saying NBC head honchos pay more attention to Earl than to his series.
My Name Is Earl’s creator, Greg Garcia, responded via Defamer by calling Alec a psychotic narcissist.
Alec shot back on the Huffington Post site: “For Earl’s creator, Greg Garcia, who referred to me as a ‘psychotic,’ I have only one question. Why are you Scientologists always rendering these medical opinions you aren’t qualified to give?”
Now Garcia’s taking no prisoners—firing back at Baldwin, bald people and Yes, Dear. We are not making this up:
“Alec, I can’t tell you how happy I am to once again point out that you are an idiot. I’m unable to answer your question about Scientologists because, although I respect anyone’s right to their own beliefs, I am not currently nor have I ever been a Scientologist. Maybe you should have done some research that extended past the comments section of Defamer before you crafted your insult.
“If you choose to attack me again may I suggest something witty about me creating the show Yes, Dear or just simply a joke about the fact that I’m bald. Both true.”

- from Yahoo

Rowling Rules: Judge Halts Harry Potter Lexicon

The moral of this story: Don’t mess with J.K. Rowling. The wizardly writer just whipped out one heck of an expelliarmus spell on the folks behind The Harry Potter Lexicon.

A federal judge in New York today put the kibosh on the planned publication of a contentious book version of the popular (now defunct) fansite, ruling it violates Rowling’s creations.

U.S. District Judge Robert Patterson Jr. dismissed defense arguments that the Lexion was protected under fair-use provisions of copyright law.

Rowling and Warner Bros. teamed up last October to sue author Steven Vander Ark and RDR Books over the planned 400-page, $25 Lexicon. During testimony in April, an emontional Rowling took the stand and blasted the book as amounting to “wholesale theft of 17 years of my hard work” and “decimating” her livelihood by forcing her to take a break from writing her latest novel to focus on the legal battle.

- from ET

Robert De Niro’s restaurant chain sells endangered tuna

A Michelin-starred restaurant chain part-owned by the actor Robert De Niro is serving endangered bluefin tuna at its London outlets without telling customers, DNA tests have shown.

Undercover investigators targeted the Nobu chain, which has 21 restaurants on four continents and is the haunt of celebrities such as Madonna, Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio.

At three Nobu restaurants in London, investigators from the environmental group Greenpeace ordered tuna dishes described on the menu only by Japanese terms for the cut of the fish they were from.

They asked staff to identify the tuna species used. Samples were later tested to determine the type. Dishes from all three were Atlantic bluefin.

The distinction is important because the Atlantic bluefin and the southern bluefin are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List because of overfishing. Most sushi eaten in Britain is from less endangered species such as yellowfin, but Japanese chefs are known to consider bluefin the most delicious.

Nobu does not specify on its menus which species of tuna it serves. Requests for the information by campaigners have been met for several years with a terse “no comment”.

- from UK

MSNBC Drops Olbermann, Matthews as News Anchors

MSNBC is removing Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews as the anchors of live political events, bowing to growing criticism that they are too opinionated to be seen as neutral in the heat of the presidential campaign.

David Gregory, the NBC newsman and White House correspondent who also hosts a program on MSNBC, will take over during such events as this fall’s presidential and vice presidential debates and election night.

The move, confirmed by spokesmen for both networks, follows increasingly loud complaints about Olbermann’s anchor role at the Democratic and Republican conventions. Olbermann, who regularly assails President Bush and GOP nominee John McCain on his “Countdown” program, was effusive in praising the acceptance speech of Democratic nominee Barack Obama. He drew flak Thursday when the Republicans played a video that included a tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, saying that if the networks had done that, “we would be rightly eviscerated at all quarters, perhaps by the Republican Party itself, for exploiting the memories of the dead, and perhaps even for trying to evoke that pain again. If you reacted to that videotape the way I did, I apologize.”

Matthews, who has criticized politicians in both parties, drew less criticism for his convention role but became a divisive figure during the primaries when he described how he was inspired by Obama’s speeches and made disparaging remarks about Hillary Clinton, for which he later apologized.

In May, MSNBC President Phil Griffin said in an interview that during live events Olbermann and Matthews “put on different hats. I think the audience gets it. . . . I see zero problem.”

But NBC News journalists, who often appear on the cable channel, did see a problem, arguing behind the scenes that MSNBC’s move to the left — which includes a new show, debuting tonight, for Air America radio host Rachel Maddow — was tarnishing their reputation for fairness. Tom Brokaw, the interim host of “Meet the Press,” said that at times Olbermann and Matthews went too far.

- from Washpost

“Max Payne” Director John Moore Upset Over R-Rating, Claims MPAA Gave WB a Blowjob For “Dark Knight”

A PG-13 rating can open a film up to a wider audience than an R-rating, making a big box office take just a tad more attainable. It’s not a huge mystery, then, why Max Payne director John Moore is none too pleased with the MPAA’s decision to give his upcoming film, Max Payne, an R. In a recent interview with Das Gamer, John Moore, who is apparently trying to cut the film down to qualify for a PG-13 (its original target rating) expressed some of his frustration, saying:

We’re suffering from what I call Batman blowback. The Motion Picture Association of America gave The Dark Knight a PG-13 rating and basically sucked Warner Bros. cock…The MPAA changes their rules willy-nilly and it depends on who’s seeing your actual movie at the time. It’s very difficult to get a hold on what’s acceptable. The only thing you can use is current standards. So I go and see The Dark Knight and I say, “Gee, that’s pretty gnarly for PG-13,” but I felt good about Max Payne after coming out of the theater. I thought Max wasn’t going to have a problem. And that’s not the case. They’re coming down on us pretty hard.

- from /Film

Madonna dedicates “Like a Virgin” to pope

Pop star Madonna, once accused by the Vatican of staging one of the most satanic shows in history, surprised fans by dedicating her hit “Like a Virgin” to the pope at a sold-out concert held in Rome.

“I dedicate this song to the pope, because I’m a child of God. All of you are also children of God,” the 50-year old “Queen of Pop” told the 60,000 fans that flocked to the Italian stop of her “Sticky & Sweet” world tour on Saturday.

Italian newspapers gushed over the singer’s electric performance and called the dedication a surprising provocation.

“At the Roman leg of her tour, Madonna didn’t miss the opportunity for a provocation that will certainly be discussed,” Italy’s top newspaper Corriere della Sera said in a front-page report.

Madonna, who comes from a devout Italian Catholic family, has raised the ire of the Catholic Church in the past with sexually charged antics designed to shock.

In 2006, she staged a mock-crucifixion at a concert in Rome to the backdrop of accusations from the Vatican of blasphemy.

The Vatican also condemned her controversial 1989 video for the song “Like a Prayer” that featured burning crosses, statues crying blood and Madonna seducing a black Jesus.

The Vatican later panned a show where she decked the stage out with religious imagery as one of the most “satanic shows in the history of humanity”.

- from Reuters

Tommy Lee Jones seeks $10M in ‘No Country’ lawsuit

Tommy Lee Jones is suing the makers of “No Country for Old Men” for more than $10 million that the Oscar-winning actor claims he is owed for starring in the 2007 hit crime thriller.

The lawsuit against Paramount Pictures claims that Jones was promised “significant box-office bonuses” and other compensation depending on the success of the film, which went on to make more than $160 million.

The movie, which is set in Texas and based on a critically acclaimed Cormac McCarthy novel, garnered four Academy Awards, including “Best Picture.”

A message left for Paramount Pictures on Saturday was not immediately returned. Jones declined to comment through his publicist, Jennifer Allen, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

“The paperwork stands for itself,” Allen said.

- from AP