Maybe Katie employed the wrong stategy? Perhaps she should have "Looked for Mr. Mediocre"?

It's a well-known stereotype that hollywood marriages don't last. If she had simply picked some guy who earned less money than her (and that's probably a lot of guys) the lovable dumb guy (after all, less successful means dumber, right?) would no doubt have adored her, alleged weight fluctuations and understandable, human doubts over self-image and all...

Andrew,

I am certain you are aware that these debates are simply opportunities for candidates to convey their talking points.

Candidates answer questions with an eye toward delivering their talking points to the public.

Of the two candidates, I think Edwards was the one more focused in accomplishing this goal by answering the question with his message regarding 'Two Americas'.

The concept of staying on message seems silly to a lot of people, as many of us view communication in a debate, or QnA format, as one that demands an actual answer to the questions posed. Since neither Edwards or Clinton answered in such a way that addressed hedge funds in direct terms, I think you, Andrew, and others, were disappointed. I honestly believe that if these candidates were asked the same questions in different circumstances, they would likely give more direct (though not necessarily more accurate) answers.

That said, I think Edwards did the best job of adhering to the likely advice of his communication team - 'Stay on Message!'

To me, his answer evoked his message of 'Two Americas'. In contrast, I felt Clinton's answer was not as on-message for her campaign.

Farrell from Albany

I like a couple of things about the new look for this column. First of all, it brings a consistent feel across the board for all of the various Salon features. Second, I think the ability for King Kaufman to provide updates to the column throughout the day will be a strong feature.

Keep up the good work, and congrats to the web-monkeys at Salon (maybe a web-monkey was involved in the original joke to your badger punchline?)

Farrell

I'd recommend two more movies for your list, Tron, and Mr. Bean's Holiday.

Yes, I know you have a strict, anti-Disney thang going on here, but one could hardly consider Tron as part of what is likely being abhorred. It's a great action-adventure flick, and the special effects are unique and stand-out to this day, and more importantly, do not take over the movie. It's good stuff, and fun for the whole family. ;^)

Mr. Bean's Holiday is a fun romp, and I think is a worthy successor to the types of silent, physical comedies pioneered and mastered by Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.

Farrell

PS - I've also seen 'The General', and it was great fun! :-D

For a moment, I was worried we had reached "peak" blogging conditions, and henceforth, would only see a reducing amount of columns. :-D

Sorry, couldn't resist, and it seemed in keeping with the pet 'theme' of this blog. ;^)

Farrell

Is the apparent revulsion being shown because the contact lenses simulate the "anime" look (also correctly reference by a prior letter writer as the original Disney animated look)?

I guess I could understand the beef if there was evidence showing bias or prejudice against ladies refusing to wear such contacts. But to go after something like this, in a culture where dressing up as anime or pop-culture favorites is an accepted hobby (cosplay), comes across a little tone-deaf.

Farrell

* continued die-off of the bees as a species, a pendulum shift back toward republican power when Joe Six-pack gets pissed that our economic problems aren't magically solved in the first year of the Obama administration, and the looming specter of big agri-business screwing up genetically altered crops such that they can no longer be (safely) consumed by humans.

or a "lighter-hearted" tri-fecta

* Alaska attacked by a zombie moose infestation, cancellation of the Daily Show, and being stuck in traffic with Joe McCain (road rage FTW!).

I liked this new attempt at live-blogging; I find it preferable to the older method of continuously updating the post in the war-room thread.

I didn't mind that after a while, the display window would shift to a single 'what topic is this?' frame, as when I clicked on it, it instantly had me back where I had left off in the live blog (though I am curious if it was a lot slower for people with less bandwidth available to them).

Thanks for the live-blog; hopefully the writers found it more engaging than being on stand-by for covering an outing for golf (seriously gang, the complaints about covering the quiet moments is wearing thin).